UBS Power Play: New CEO Says Status Quo

Zurich-based UBS may have tossed its former skipper overboard, but new Chief Executive Marcel Rohner said the investment bank will stay its course, according to the Associated Press.   Rohner was tapped by the bank’s board to replace Peter Wuffli, 49, effective immediately. Wuffli’s ouster comes after the collapse of a bank-run Dillon Read Capital Management hedge fund, the exodus of several high-profile bankers, and swirling concerns over the fixed-income and U.S. brokerage businesses.    Massachusetts opened investigations into claims that the company curried favor from hedge funds traders to win the bank brokerage business through low-interest personal loans and low-price rent.    During a conference call, Rohner, 42, said that the bank’s strategy of running its private bank and investment bank in tandem will remain.   Retiring Chairman Marcel Ospel had nominated Wuffli as his successor, a move the board swiftly rejected. Ospel will stay on for three more years.   The Dillon Reade fund, which is being closed, contributed to the bank’s 6.5 % drop in first-quarter profits. The U.S. mortgage market served as the root of problems for the fund, bank officials said. ABN Amro Analyst Kinner Lakhani said the second quarter results will show whether the sub-prime problems have truly passed.   The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.