UBS to raise 2.1bn as it warns of loss
SWISS bank UBS, one of the world’s hardest-hit banks in the financial crisis, said yesterday it would raise about Sfr3.8bn (£2.1bn) of equity capital and warned it would fall to a net loss in the second quarter of 2009.
UBS is offering about 293.3m new shares at a price of Sfr13.00 per share, a 6.9 per cent discount on yesterday’s closing price of Sfr13.97. Shares of UBS fell 5.9 per cent ahead of the offering.
In a statement, the Swiss government said the government welcomed the bank’s efforts to strength its capital base.
The world’s largest wealth manager by assets is trying to rebound after last year suffering the biggest annual loss in Swiss history because of massive writedowns.