The Swiss wealth giant said it may have charged rich clients too much on debt securities deals. UBS said it plans to pay customers back, but expects sanctions and fines from regulators.
Zurich-based UBS said it spotted possible overcharging of wealthy clients in Hong Kong and Singapore as recently as 2015, in its quarterly report released on Tuesday. The Swiss bank said it reported itself to regulators, after an internal probe found the bank might have lifted extra spread on debt securities transactions.
«UBS expects the relevant authorities will subject UBS to reprimands and fines as a result of their investigations,» the bank said. «UBS intends to reimburse affected customers on a basis agreed with the relevant authorities.»
The regulatory snafu isn't UBS' only recent run-in with authorities: the bank was barred for one year from corporate finance in Hong Kong earlier this year for its dealings on initial public offerings.
Hot Asian Growth
The regulatory wrinkle comes against the backdrop of enormous focus for UBS on Asia and China in particular. UBS’ private bank hoovered up $10.9 billion of fresh money in Asia, boosting the region’s total invested assets to $420 billion, it said earlier on Tuesday.
The quarterly result is the first since former Credit Suisse wealth head Iqbal Khan joined as co-head of UBS' $2.3 trillion private bank. The most important division within UBS boosted quarterly profit – thanks to client activity and lower restructuring costs.
