Chairman's statement

Current environment

Nothing focuses the mind more, it is sometimes argued, than a crisis. Since the second half of 2007, UBS has been faced with an exceptional crisis which has undoubtedly focused our minds. Most obviously, our attention has centred on understanding the reasons for the crisis and, most importantly, on developing answers and implementing solutions.

Kaspar Villiger, Chairman of UBS, Chair of the UBS Corporate Responsibility Committee

Consequently, our foremost responsibility is to restore UBS's credibility and health. We must return our firm to its path of solid growth and regain the fullest trust of our stakeholders. To achieve this we must ensure sustained share-price growth for our shareholders, continue to provide the best possible combination of advice, products and services for our clients, and maintain the motivation and commitment of our employees.

We are committed to doing everything we can, in the interests of shareholders, clients, employees and the communities in which we do business, to help UBS return to the successful path that we entered when it was created in 1998; a path laid down upon the solid foundations built since the 19th century by UBS's major predecessors banks.

UBS's continued commitment to corporate responsibility

For many years, our stakeholders have been taking a growing interest in UBS's wider societal commitments and activities. In 2000, we demonstrated our belief in the importance of key environmental and social issues by becoming one of the first subscribers to the UN Global Compact – an initiative that unites governments, business, labour organizations and civil society to foster global adherence to principles with regard to human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption standards.

Currently, we are focused on restoring the overall stability and success of UBS. Progress in some areas pertaining to our societal commitments may therefore be slower than in past years. Our overall commitment to corporate responsibility, however, remains firm and we will continue to move forward on key activities.

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Corporate responsibility themes at UBS

We continue to pursue our dynamic management of environmental issues, including the implementation of our climate change strategy. In addition to working towards achieving our 40% CO2 emissions reductions goal by 2012, we have heightened our focus on the client-related aspects of climate change.

It is important that, in uneasy times like the current, we sustain a strong pipeline of talent. We remain therefore strongly committed to investing in our people and we continue programs and processes across the firm in order to promote a diverse workforce. We continue to work at the implementation of important projects linked to our Statement on Human Rights, in particular pertaining to the issue of responsible supply chain management and to the development of sensitive industry guidelines. We remain firmly committed to our effective risk-based approach to anti-money laundering – a key responsibility for any global financial firm – and to promoting the development and implementation of anti-money laundering and anti-corruption standards for the financial industry as a whole.

Our continued dedication to key corporate responsibility activities demonstrates that we have not lost sight of areas of relevance beyond the fundamental financial sphere. Equally, we have not lost sight of the long-term, even while, at present, our main efforts are focused on the short-term, i.e. the resolution of the crisis and the restoration of solid foundations for a successful future.

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Corporate responsibility governance

With regard to UBS's corporate responsibility efforts, this forward-looking perspective is sustained by our Corporate Responsibility Committee (CRC). As in previous years, the CRC continues to focus on reviewing and assessing how to meet the evolving corporate responsibility expectations of our stakeholders – and on providing its recommendations to the senior management of the firm.

The CRC also has specific monitoring and reviewing responsibilities and authorities for UBS corporate responsibility policies and regulations and for the implementation of the firm's corporate responsibilities activities and commitments.

Our active continuance of the operational and strategic components of corporate responsibility at UBS demonstrates both our acknowledgement of its importance to the firm and our commitment to making progress in the corporate responsibility activities that we are engaged in.

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