Bank chief falls on his sword

Bank chief falls on his sword
September 25, 2011 12:00AM

STEPPING DOWN: Oswald Gruebel, CEO of Swiss bank UBS,
is resigning over more than US$2 billion in illegal trades at his bank.
Picture: AP Source: AP

UBS'S chief executive Oswald Gruebel has resigned
over a $US2.3 billion ($A2.36 billion) rogue trading loss, the bank says.

The move ends days of speculation about whether Gruebel could
retain his position following the latest scandal to hit Switzerland's
biggest bank.

UBS Europe chief Sergio P. Ermotti will take over immediately as interim CEO
until Gruebel's replacement is appointed, the bank said in a statement.

UBS's president Kaspar Villiger said the board regretted Gruebel's decision to resign
but had decided to accept it.

"Oswald Gruebel feels that it is his duty to assume responsibility for the
recent unauthorised trading incident," Villiger was quoted as saying in
the statement. "It is testimony to his uncompromising principles and
integrity."

London-based UBS trader Kweku Adoboli was arrested last week and
charged with fraud and false accounting for the $US2.3 billion loss.
A judge ordered him on Thursday to be held in jail until ahearing next month.

Villiger said Gruebel, who was brought in more than two years ago to
help revive the fortunes of the Zurich-based bank, had achieved "an
impressive turnaround and strengthened UBS fundamentally".

"He steps down having helped make UBS one of the world's best capitalised banks,"
Villiger said.

The announcement also noted that the board, which met in Singapore this
week, would seek to put in place measures to prevent a similar rogue
trading loss from recurring.