By Jason Rhodes
ZURICH, Dec 18 (Reuters) - UBS, once the champion of Swiss banking, is trying to improve its battered image and stem billions of outflows from customer accounts by apologising to customers for its mistakes.
UBS, one of Switzerland's two major retail banks alongside Credit Suisse, wrote to customers to thank them for their loyalty and promised to make preserving its capital base and returning to profit top priorities for next year.
'We are sorry that we have not always been able to meet your expectations in this difficult time,' UBS said in the letter, signed by Chief Executive Marcel Rohner, Chairman Peter Kurer and Swiss wealth management head Alain Robert.
UBS, the world's largest wealth management company in terms of assets, is struggling to rebuild its once powerful brand after massive investments into risky U.S. assets forced it to make more writedowns than any other European bank and accept government help.
It has seen billions flow from accounts over the course of this year as rattled clients seek what they perceive to be safer havens for their savings like regional state-backed banks.
But some analysts said they don't expect a quick turn-around.
'It is unlikely that confidence will be restored as long as the global financial crisis is raging and claiming more victims,' said Sarasin analyst Rainer Skierka.
The letters were sent as the bank runs a major advertising campaign to reassure Swiss customers of their importance to the bank.
UBS said in a statement on Thursday it would lower interest rates on savings and euro accounts from Jan. 1 in response to the decline in domestic and European money and capital market rates.
(Editing by Sharon Lindores) Keywords: UBS/APOLOGY (jason.rhodes@thomsonreuters.com; +41 58 306 7462; Reuters Messaging:jason.rhodes.reuters.com@reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
ZURICH, Dec 18 (Reuters) - UBS, once the champion of Swiss banking, is trying to improve its battered image and stem billions of outflows from customer accounts by apologising to customers for its mistakes.
UBS, one of Switzerland's two major retail banks alongside Credit Suisse, wrote to customers to thank them for their loyalty and promised to make preserving its capital base and returning to profit top priorities for next year.
'We are sorry that we have not always been able to meet your expectations in this difficult time,' UBS said in the letter, signed by Chief Executive Marcel Rohner, Chairman Peter Kurer and Swiss wealth management head Alain Robert.
UBS, the world's largest wealth management company in terms of assets, is struggling to rebuild its once powerful brand after massive investments into risky U.S. assets forced it to make more writedowns than any other European bank and accept government help.
It has seen billions flow from accounts over the course of this year as rattled clients seek what they perceive to be safer havens for their savings like regional state-backed banks.
But some analysts said they don't expect a quick turn-around.
'It is unlikely that confidence will be restored as long as the global financial crisis is raging and claiming more victims,' said Sarasin analyst Rainer Skierka.
The letters were sent as the bank runs a major advertising campaign to reassure Swiss customers of their importance to the bank.
UBS said in a statement on Thursday it would lower interest rates on savings and euro accounts from Jan. 1 in response to the decline in domestic and European money and capital market rates.
(Editing by Sharon Lindores) Keywords: UBS/APOLOGY (jason.rhodes@thomsonreuters.com; +41 58 306 7462; Reuters Messaging:jason.rhodes.reuters.com@reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.