Introduction and principles

UBS is committed to meeting high standards of corporate governance. Our corporate and executive bodies are organized in line with leading codes of best practice. The ultimate aim of our corporate governance is to lead UBS to success.

Corporate governance – the way that the leadership and management of the firm are organized and how they operate in practice – ultimately aims to lead UBS to success, protecting the interests of its shareholders and creating value for them and for all stakeholders. Good corporate governance seeks to balance entrepreneurship, control and transparency, while supporting the firm's success by ensuring efficient decision-making processes.

UBS fully complies with the standards established in the "Swiss Code of Best Practice for Corporate Governance" and the "SWX Swiss Exchange Directive on Information Relating to Corporate Governance", both effective since 1 July 2002. UBS also meets the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) corporate governance standards applicable to listed foreign companies and complies with the overwhelming majority of NYSE standards for US domestic issuers. The few exceptions, mainly due to different legal systems in Switzerland and the US relating to the role, responsibilities and authorities of the Board of Directors and the Annual General Meeting (AGM), are explained on pages 113–119. UBS complies with the applicable requirements of the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, including the certification of UBS's Annual Report on Form 20-F by the CEO and the CFO.

SWX Swiss Exchange Reporting on Corporate Governance

The Corporate Governance section contains the following information required by the SWX Swiss Exchange Directive on Information relating to Corporate Governance:

– Group structure and shareholders

– Capital structure

– Board of Directors

– Senior management (Group Executive Board / GEB)

– Compensation, shareholdings and loans

– Shareholders' participation rights

– Change of control and defense measures

– Auditors

– Information policy

This section summarizes the regulatory and supervisory environment of UBS in its principal locations and describes how UBS complies with the NYSE listing standards on corporate governance. In addition, it provides a list of all members of the Group Managing Board and the Vice Chairmen of the Business Groups who, together with the GEB, form the senior leadership of the firm.

The chapter on executive compensation has been re-written this year to enhance readability, transparency and the understanding of the processes leading to compensation decisions.