to the tune of $54B, by the Swiss government through the Swiss national bank. I don’t know much about the economy, so I’m not sure if this in any way affects you guys, but since UBS has quite a big presence in the US, and there was even talk about the bank lobbying the US government to get included in THAT bailout, I though this might be interesting.
I’m rather shocked that the largest Swiss bank could fail to such an extent. As the NYT wrote (cited in the linked article):
“The knowledge that the losses at UBS stem from such un-Swiss habits as reckless borrowing and betting on shaky American mortgages is doubly painful. Many individual Swiss shareholders believe their banks should have stuck to the private wealth business they have long dominated, rather than getting caught up in what they consider the casino-like world of Wall Street.”
Up to now I was under the impression the big Swiss banks had done just that. This episode could seriously damage Switzerland’s reputation as a safe haven for investors.