"Rogue trader" loses $2 billion for Swiss bank

Post Reply New Topic

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 222D80.DTL

And they're just now discovering this. Humanity will live to rue the day it turned the greatest civilization ever known over to a bunch of investment bankers, who blew into air more money than the entire sum of assets of the PLANET, and who are now pushing for America to attack China so that China can "forgive" our debts by nuking us back into the Stone Age. The world is their chess table, and they have bet civilization itself on the outcome.

How is this America's fault?

You do not appreciate the relative strengths of the US and Chinese nuclear arsenals - you have one hundred times more nukes than China, yes, really (~15,000 against ~150). The world is that insane.

Who suggested that it was? So far as I can see, pezar is laying blame at the feet of investment bankers.

Just beating the America-haters to the punch, because sooner or later, someone is sure to try to blame dishonest capitalistic practices on the Good Old U. S. of A., whether or not there was any actual involvement.

2 billion is peanuts, all they have to do is pay the SEC 50 million to reverse the trades.

I take it you've got US$2bn then?

No, thought not.

Well: as senator Everett Dirkson once said "A billion here,and a billion there, and before you know it- you're talking about some real money!"

It just might actually be helpful to cite a source.

http://www.ubs.com/1/e/investors/releas ... sId=195150

Zurich/Basel, September 18, 2011, 04:00 PM
UBS provides more detailed information on unauthorized trading

On September 15, 2011 UBS announced that it had discovered unauthorized trading in its Investment Bank. This trading was conducted by a trader in its Global Synthetic Equity business in London. The trader in question has been charged by UK authorities with fraud by abuse of position.

Before making a further announcement, we needed to be certain that we understood the positions that were booked and that we knew the amount of our resulting loss.

We have now covered the risk resulting from the unauthorized trading, and the equities business is again operating normally within its previously defined risk limits. The loss arising from this matter is USD 2.3 billion. As previously stated, no client positions were affected.

The loss resulted from unauthorized speculative trading in various S&P 500, DAX, and EuroStoxx index futures over the last three months. The positions taken were within the normal business flow of a large global equity trading house as part of a properly hedged portfolio. However, the true magnitude of the risk exposure was distorted because the positions had been offset in our systems with fictitious, forward-settling, cash ETF positions, allegedly executed by the trader. These fictitious trades concealed the fact that the index futures trades violated UBS's risk limits.

Following inquiries directed to him by UBS control functions that were reviewing his positions, the trader revealed his unauthorized activity on September 14, 2011.

UBS's Board of Directors has set up a special committee to conduct an independent investigation of the unauthorized trading activities and their relation to the control environment. The committee will be chaired by David Sidwell, the Senior Independent Director, and will report to the Board of Directors. The other members of the committee are Ann Godbehere and Joseph Yam.

UBS AG

Media contact
Switzerland: +41-44-234-85 00
UK: +44-207-567 47 14
Americas: +1-212-882 58 57
APAC: +852-297-1 82 00

America is to blame for everything. Ants at you picnic? Blame America. High unemployment in Europe? Blame America. Greece going into default? Blame America. The Jews own Palestine? Blame America.

ruveyn