UBS bans asset managers' foreign travel

ZURICH: UBS, Switzerland���s largest bank, introduced a ban on travel abroad for its assets managers. The ban on customer visits will affect more than 1,000 Swiss-based advisers and is part of a general restriction on business travel by the Zurich-based bank, UBS spokeswoman Eveline Mueller-Eichenberger told Bloomberg News in a telephone interview.

The ban was earlier reported by Sonntags Blick. UBS is reviewing rules with regard to its international asset management business, UBS spokesman Serge Steiner told the newspaper. This process could take months, until then ���the ban will remain in force,��� Steiner was cited as saying.

The Swiss Financial Markets Supervisory Authority said in February that UBS ���severely breached��� its obligations under the Swiss Banking Act by allowing some staff to ignore US restrictions on dealing with American clients. UBS wasn���t negligent in its overall implementation of its qualified intermediary agreement with the US, FINMA said.

UBS avoided prosecution on February 18 by admitting that it helped American clients hide money in Swiss accounts to avoid paying US taxes.

UBS also agreed to make reforms and pay $780 million in fines and penalties. The Zurich-based lender has announced 11,000 job cuts and posted more than $50 billion in writedowns and losses since the beginning of the financial crisis.

The losses forced it to raise more than $32 billion in capital from investors, including the Swiss government. The bank posted a 20.9 billion-franc loss ($17.7 billion) for 2008 and said last month it remains ���extremely cautious��� about the outlook for this year.