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UBS tumbles amid fears of new crisis hit
08.07.08
UBS shares tumbled today as investors bet that the bank could face fresh strife from the turmoil in the US mortgages market.
The bank is the European institution most exposed to the US subprime crisis, having already written off $38 billion (£19.2 billion) of assets.
UBS shares fell 80 cents to Swfr19.20 in Zurich as further panic emerged from the US.
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the giant mortgage firms that underpin the US housing market, were rumoured to be in need of an injection of capital, sending the shares of both into steep decline.
Lehman Brothers said the pair might have to raise $26 billion and $46 billion respectively in order to stay in business.
UBS is also facing a probe into whether it helped US customers to evade taxes illegally.
