Extreme makeover

UBS needs to change a lot more than Credit Suisse, its Zurich neighbour and longstanding rival. Over the last four painful quarters, UBS has lost SFr25bn while Credit Suisse has generated about SFr900m of profit. In 2006 UBS had a market capitalisation 75% larger than Credit Suisse. Now the two are roughly the same size. So UBS is going under the knife for a makeover. The headlines herald a retreat from the “one bank” approach, in which the private and investment banks were closely integrated. ...