The Sanction Commission of SIX Swiss Exchange has imposed a $103,000 fine on UBS Inc. not promptly publishing information on expected losses, in summer of 2007.
This delay represented a breach of the provisions on ad hoc publicity, the exchange said.
The fine follows an investigation into a breach of the stock exchange's rules on ad hoc publicity. the investigation also focused on whether UBS's 2008 annual report breached provisions of the directive on information relating to corporate governance.
By the exchange's rules,an issuer must inform the market of any potentially price-sensitive information as soon as it becomes itself aware of the main points of such information. If an issuer has made any statements on its future business performance that may give rise to certain expectations on the part of the market, it is obliged to correct these expectations by issuing an ad hoc notice (profit warning).
On August 14, 2007, UBS issued a press release on its results for the second quarter of 2007, which contained a profit warning for the third quarter of 2007. A second profit warning was issued on October 1. The Sanction Commission has established that UBS was too late in issuing this information.
On February 13 and May 3, 2007, UBS issued what the exchange called "confident press releases." The investigation revealed that the relevant UBS committees were already aware of the impact of the sub-prime problem on its investment banking operations.
The exchange's sanction decisions can be
