UBS Retreats From Russia in Small Steps
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Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, UBS reduced its exposure to the country and continues to do so.
As a result of sanctions imposed against Russia by various jurisdictions including the US, EU, UK, and Switzerland, among others, UBS said it is not conducting any new business with Russia or clients domiciled there.
Furthermore, Switzerland’s largest bank continued to reduce its exposure to Russia by a further $100 million in the second quarter. While the sum is negligible in relation to its overall assets and business, it is nevertheless something that UBS and other banks point out in the reporting of their results.
At the end of June, UBS had a direct country risk exposure to Russia of $300 million, down from $400 million at the end of the first quarter, and half of the $600 million exposure at the end of last year, UBS said in its second-quarter report.
What remains is trade finance exposure in personal and corporate banking, one loan in the investment bank, cash account balances, and issuer risk on trading inventory within the investment bank. Moreover, the bank had «no material direct country risk exposures to Ukraine or Belarus as of June 3o.»
In the first quarter of the year, both the EU and Switzerland banned deposits of over 100,000 euros on Russian individuals not legally residing in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland. UBS said this exposure has been reduced as well, with about 0.4 percent of invested assets in its global wealth management (GWM) related to such clients at the end of June, which is down from around 0.7 percent at the end of the first quarter.
At the end of the second quarter, the GWM unit had $2.8 trillion of invested assets.
Questions & Answers
Q.What kind of exposure does UBS still have to Russia, even after its reductions?
What kind of exposure does UBS still have to Russia, even after its reductions?
The remaining exposure includes trade finance in personal and corporate banking, one loan in the investment bank, cash account balances, and issuer risk on trading inventory. These areas still represent direct country risk for UBS.
Q.By how much did UBS reduce its direct country risk exposure to Russia during the second quarter?
By how much did UBS reduce its direct country risk exposure to Russia during the second quarter?
UBS reduced its direct country risk exposure to Russia by $100 million in the second quarter. This brought the total down from $400 million at the end of the first quarter to $300 million by the end of June.
Q.What was the total value of invested assets in UBS's global wealth management unit at the end of the second quarter?
What was the total value of invested assets in UBS's global wealth management unit at the end of the second quarter?
At the end of the second quarter, UBS's global wealth management unit managed $2.8 trillion in invested assets. This provides context for the Russian client exposure percentage mentioned in the article.