UBS loses top woman banker

In recent months UBS has lost everyone from its chairman of corporate broking to its head of European equities, two senior female managing directors in M&A, and, as of yesterday, its female global head of ECM, Lucinda Riches.

Riches stepped down from the job less than three months after becoming sole boss of the business. She had been co-head with James Garvin, who left the bank in February, since 1999.

The departures come despite a 33% rise in pre-tax profits in the first quarter, and suggest staff were unimpressed by the bank's avowed intention to claim first place in European M&A.

Financial News reports colleagues of Mihri Jayaweera, one of the exiting directors in the M&A team, were shocked by her departure. "Mihri was the sort of banker who worked the hours and was totally committed to the cause," one said.

Pundits suggest the flurry of female departures doesn't help the bank's reputation as a diverse employer. "It doesn't look great," says one M&A headhunter. "They've lost two key women from M&A, and the head of ECM who is also a woman."

In April, a federal court in New York ordered UBS to pay $29.3m to a former equity saleswoman who sued the bank for sex discrimination.