UBS Fires Two, Suspends Nine; Federated Fires One

Zurich-based UBS has fired two of its financial advisers in the U.S. and suspended nine more for a few weeks, Reuters reported Tuesday.

And this morning, it was reported that Federated Investors fired one "mid-level" officer after he admitted to top brass that he had deleted e-mails that might serve as evidence in regulators’ late trading investigations at the firm. A company spokesperson said that an undisclosed number of employees were also pinpointed in the investigation, but that they accepted orders after the market close at that day’s NAV inadvertently. While there are gray areas in market timing, late trading is out-and-out illegal.

UBS spokesman Christoph Meier said the firings came as a result of an internal probe into trades in the bank’s PaineWebber brokerage unit. At issue was the consent for rapid-fire "hot money," or market timing, in violation of the company’s rules, Meier said.

UBS employs 8,200 financial advisers in the U.S.

More Scandal News

Meanwhile, Citigroup revealed yesterday that federal prosecutors are looking into its trading arrangements between its mutual fund division and an unnamed transfer agent, Reuters reports. The company issued a statement expressing "regret" over "errors" in the contract.

Thomas Jones, CEO of the unit, said Citigroup will review its transfer fee structure with all outside parties.

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