Swiss banking giant UBS has warned that the crisis in the U.S housing market has cost it around 4 billion Swiss francs and has announced a major management shakeup and plans to cut 1,500 jobs.
The losses would substantially come from its holdings of securities linked to the U.S subprime sector, which has been hit by a wave of foreclosures as housing prices plunge. UBS said it foresaw asset write-downs from its investment banking arm's fixed income, rates and currencies division.
Another Swiss banking giant, Credit Suisse, has also implied its investment banking and asset management operations could also be adversely affected by recent market turbulence.