Two More UBS Executives Resign

Not surprisingly, the two co-global heads of UBS's Equities division have resigned. These resignations follow a trading scandal that cost the Swiss bank $2.3 billion and the CEO's resignation on September 25.

An email to employees from interim CEO Sergio Ermotti uses a sharper tone than emails from the previous CEO:

"We have to be straight with ourselves. In no circumstances should something like this ever occur. The fact that it did is evidence of a failure to exercise appropriate controls. Our internal investigation indicates that risk and operational systems did detect unauthorized or unexplained activity but this was not sufficiently investigated nor was appropriate action taken to ensure existing controls were enforced."

Discussion Starters:

• Ermotti's email uses an indirect organizational plan. Do you think this is appropriate in this case? Why or why not?
• Compare Ermotti's email to that of Carsten Kengeter, the head of the UBS investment bank. What differences do you notice, and how would you explain them?   Download UBS emails.