The wonders of working for UBS

21 January 2008

2 minute read

It's lost a packet on dodgy trades, 'shaken up' its prop trading division, and plans to pay high stock bonuses. Who wants to work there?

Lots of people, according to everything we've ever written on UBS. Once when we addressed the subject a loyal employee declared himself willing to pledge his allegiance to the bank even if it didn't pay a bonus - which is fortunate, given this may well come to pass.

What's the source of such devotion? According to the comment-leaver, it's all down to the Swiss bank's work-life balance, but we've been doing a little digging and it appears there's more to it than that.

Part of the appeal appears to be the presence of old people. "I joined from a US bank less than a year ago," says one bond trader, "and on my part of the floor there's a huge amount of experience that you just don't get at US houses, which churn and burn staff."

All those grey hairs apparently make for a 'friendlier' working environment and greater camaraderie. "It's a very, very nice place to work," he exudes.

The question is, therefore, can this niceness survive redundancies and a shake-up which includes a reduction in prop trading and the combination of debt and equity underwriting operations?

Nice no more

Maybe not. According to one headhunter who works with the bank, the culture in the all-important equities division is already changing for the worse: "Historically, they were all nice to each other, but that changed when Alex Easton left. It's become a lot more aggressive and commercial."

Jason Kennedy, managing director of search firm Kennedy Associates, says UBS is easier to pull people out of than it used to be: "There's been a shift - before, it was a nice place to work, people believed in the company, and the ethos was that you were at a top-tier firm that was not too aggressive and not too passive."

Since Peter Wuffli left in July, Kennedy says there's been a loss of morale: "And bonuses paid substantially in stock aren't going to help that."

AUTHORSarah Butcher

Global Editor

Ja
Jane
15 April 2008
I used to think I'd work for UBS when hell froze over. Now that Luqman Arnold's tilting at the cuckoo clocks on his white charger, I think I could be persuaded....for a very large sum.
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Hi
Hit-Man
27 March 2008
An offer from UBS? I'd check and confirm that this is still on offer. Then I'd contact other banks and ask them if they can offer you anything better. If nothing else was available, then take the job at UBS and leave for greener pastures asap.
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pr
prospective UBS employee
24 March 2008
i have a offer from ubs..in the comodities group...i wud welcome ur advise on if i should take the offer or not
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Re
Redundant from UBS
12 February 2008
"Diary of a Redundancy" is a very good article I once read on efinancial. It discussed submitting a Data Protection Act request to your old employer to find out the reason you were cut. UBS are notoriously bad at providing access to employee files. You do feel quite led down by the company. Once they decide to cut you, don't expect them to be nice in any way
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An
Annoyed at UBS
4 February 2008
I've been with the bank for nearly 3 years. I've often been told by the Swiss office that London staff earn significantly more than over there, because London has a higher cost of living. So the Swiss have much better benefits to offset this. Having been promoted I now know that the Swiss salaries are in line with London, if not actually a bit higher in terms of cash comp before benefits. There are many misconceptions about the "compensation strategy" at UBS, which causes a lot of tension in working relations between staff based in different regions. UBS needs to send a clear message that there aren't big regional differences in salary. It would definitely help create a more friendly working environment for London staff
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