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UBS hit by further $4bn write-down By Haig Simonian in Zurich Published: January 30 2008 07:21 | Last updated: January 30 2008 07:21 UBS, one of the biggest casualties of the US subprime crisis, on Wednesday revealed a further $4bn in write downs on its portfolio of troubled mortgage-related securities. The surprise announcement, coming ahead of the Swiss bank’s annual results on February 14, means UBS will report a net group loss of about SFr4.4bn ($4bn) for 2007. UBS said the full-year loss, which it had signalled when disclosing initial fourth-quarter subprime writedowns of $10bn last month, stemmed from additional...

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One of President Obama’s largest financial backers is a key executive at the largest Swiss bank in the world, complicating his criticism of presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney. Robert Wolf is president of Swiss financial giant UBS Investment Bank and chairman of UBS Americas. He has been one of Obama’s most prolific fundraisers dating back to 2006, when the former Senator from Illinois initiated his run for the White House. Wolf has bundled more than $500,000 for the president’s reelection, campaign records show. He is but one of many wealthy bankers Obama has turned to in an effort to win...