Member Article

Facebook Shares Create Major Loss for Swiss UBS

Problems with Facebook shares have impacted on Swiss bank UBS to the tune of $356 million (349 million Swiss francs).

The bank has claimed the Nasdaq exchange’s “gross mishandling” of the social networking site’s flotation is responsible for denting their profits by more than half.

Facebook share issues occurred after it was valued at $104 billion in May, only for the shares to fall in below 39% of the initial sale price.

UBS says that system problems left it with more Facebook shares than it had ordered. As Switzerland’s largest bank, it has said profit has fallen by 58% in the second quarter.

The loss amounts to 130 million Swiss francs before tax, in comparison to a profit of 730 million in the same period in 2011.

In a statement UBS said: “UBS’s loss resulted from Nasdaq’s multiple failures to carry out its obligations.

“We will take appropriate legal action against Nasdaq …we intend to pursue compensation for the full extent of our losses.”

The bank will be looking to make savings as a result of this loss and are already in the process of cutting 3,500 jobs.

Image by Obtekno

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .