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Business Focus

UBS at Finance Forum in Zürich

While UBS was not present at the Finance Forum in Zürich with an own stand, "UBS. The Bank for Banks." nevertheless made an impact. Gerhard Meier was giving a presentation on Equity Structured Products. Furthermore, an article appeared in the Swiss newspaper Handelszeitung, where Dr. Kevin Douglas Stringer discussed aspects of outsourcing, insourcing and offshoring.

UBS at Sibos 2007 in Boston

This fall, Sibos, the conference and trade fair organized by Swift, takes place from October 1 to 5 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in the United States.

UBS will once again be present with its "The Bank for Banks" exhibition stand (number D25). In the spirit of "Get together to get ahead", relationship managers and product specialists from a wide variety of our business areas will be on hand to answer your questions.

All Sibos participants are also welcome to join us for our Around the World Cocktail Reception at our stand on Tuesday, October 2, starting 4 p.m. No confirmation needed.

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UBS Market Guides - Market information at your fingertips

UBS Market Guides are online reference tools containing up to date information on clearing and settlement practices, corporate actions, as well as special market features for all countries for which UBS provides custody services. Intended for custody clients of UBS, they also include comprehensive UBS-specific information. Access is via the password-protected UBS Custody Info Portal for Financial Institutions. Portal NewsFlashes bring you the latest information, and as a registered user you will receive an e-mail notification every time a NewsFlash is published. In addition, the UBS Custody Info Portal for Financial Institutions carries dividend calendars, cut-off times, tax information, as well as other useful reference material. For information, please contact your custody relationship manager. The client login can be found on:

«UBS. The Bank for Banks.»

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National City expands foreign exchange capability — Now live with UBS CLS

National City has become a third-party participant with UBS in the Continuous Linked Settlement System. The fully integrated solution maximizes the operational and cost benefits of the CLS process by eliminating MT300 SWIFT confirmations due to the direct link between the two banks. This set-up provides a true end-to-end straight-through process. Peter M. Bates, Chief Credit Officer for the International Banking division at National City: “By the end of 2006, our daily settlement risk on bank to bank foreign exchange transactions will be reduced to a fraction of the past. It is UBS’ strength and experience in technology that made us consider them when we had to chose our CLS third-party provider.”

For further information, please see National City's news release (© National City 2006).

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Changing CLS Third-Party Providers: Costly or Economical?

Three years after the launch of CLS, nearly one third of all 58 settlement members offer CLS third-party services. Will the landscape look the same in three years? Though CLS is here to stay, the providers of CLS third-party services will look very different. Based on highly competitive pricing levels, the original CLS third-party business cases are very likely not paying off on a standalone basis. As a consequence, consolidation amongst CLS third-party providers is certain.

Article (© CLS 2005): Changing CLS Third-Party Providers: Costly or Economical? English PDF

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UBS awarded "Top Rated" status by Global Custodian

For the second year running, UBS has once again been awarded the prestigious "Top Rated" status in Switzerland by the highly regarded "Global Custodian" magazine. The only bank in Switzerland to achieve "Top Rated" status for Swiss Domestic Custody Services this year, UBS's scores show a pleasing lead over both local and foreign competition in the Swiss Market.

Over 40 of our Swiss Domestic Custody Clients completed Global Custodian's "2005 Review of Agent Banks in Major Markets" and answered questions on a range of service areas including value and commitment, account and relationship management, reporting, settlements and corporate actions. The scores we received this year emphatically improved in all areas since 2004.

This survey is not only important for UBS but also for our Swiss Domestic Custody Clients and their mandates who expect to be serviced by the best agent available in the market. It is the partnership we enjoy with our clients that drives us forward. We know that we cannot rest on our laurels in this competitive market and we will continue to strive for excellence in all areas.

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Bankers' Almanac develops due diligence repository

Bankers Almanac has recently developed a new product, the Bankers’ Almanac “Due Diligence Module". The Due Diligence Module, endorsed by the Wolfsberg Group of which UBS is a member, is designed as a repository for the collection and storage of relevant information and documentation for due diligence purposes.

More information

Autoinquiry - the Cost Effective Alternative

To align existing cash pricing models with service usage and common market practice, UBS introduced a fee for inquiries in respect to payment transactions, effective May 1, 2005.

UBS has developed its SWIFT Autoinquiry for payments to allow the real-time query using UBS's infrastructure. Currently SWIFT query numbers 1, 3, 4 and 14 are supported by Autoinquiry and are free of charge.

Autoinquiry enables your bank to inquire about your payment transactions by using formatted SWIFT MT195/295/995 or MT199/299/999 messages. Such an Autoinquiry message automatically accesses the payment database of UBS, locates the corresponding transaction (debit or credit), and generates an automated reply with the requested information about the transaction in question. An automated authentication process is in place to ensure that only authorized parties have access to client specific data.

Find more information about Autoinquiry in the respective fact sheet and user guide.

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