Regulation and supervision

Banking regulation

UBS's operations in the US are subject to a variety of regulatory regimes. It maintains branches in California, Connecticut, Illinois, New York and Florida. UBS's branches located in California, New York and Florida are federally licensed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. US branches located in Connecticut and Illinois are licensed by the state banking authority of the state in which the branch is located. Each US branch is subject to regulation and examination by its licensing authority. UBS also maintains state and federally chartered trust companies and other limited purpose banks, which are regulated by state regulators or the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. In addition, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System exercises examination and regulatory authority over UBS's state-licensed US branches. Only the deposits of UBS's subsidiary bank located in the state of Utah are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The regulation of the firm's US branches and subsidiaries imposes restrictions on the activities of those branches and subsidiaries, as well as prudential restrictions, such as limits on extensions of credit to a single borrower, including UBS subsidiaries and affiliates.

The licensing authority of each US branch has the authority, in certain circumstances, to take possession of the business and property of UBS located in the state of the office it licenses. Such circumstances generally include violations of law, unsafe business practices and insolvency. As long as UBS maintains one or more federal branches, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency also has the authority to take possession of the US operations of UBS AG under similar circumstances, and this federal power may pre-empt the state insolvency regimes that would otherwise be applicable to UBS's state-licensed branches. As a result, if the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency exercised its authority over the US branches of UBS AG pursuant to federal law in the event of a UBS insolvency, all of UBS's US assets would most likely be applied first to satisfy creditors of its US branches as a group, and then made available for application pursuant to any Swiss insolvency proceeding.

In addition to the direct regulation of its US banking offices, UBS is subjected to oversight regulation by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System under various laws (including the International Banking Act of 1978 and the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956) because it operates US branches. On 10 April 2000, UBS AG was designated a "financial holding company" under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956. Financial holding companies may engage in a broader spectrum of activities than bank holding companies or foreign banking organizations that are not financial holding companies, including underwriting and dealing in securities. To maintain its financial holding company status, (1) UBS, its US subsidiary federally chartered trust company and its US subsidiary bank located in Utah are required to meet certain capital ratios, (2) UBS's US branches, its US subsidiary federally chartered trust company, and its US subsidiary bank located in Utah are required to meet certain examination ratings, and (3) UBS's subsidiary bank in Utah is required to maintain a rating of at least "satisfactory" unter the Community Reinvestment Act of 1997. A major focus of US governmental policy relating to financial institutions in recent years has been aimed at fighting money laundering and terrorist financing. Regulations applicable to UBS and its subsidiaries impose obligations to maintain appropriate policies, procedures and controls to detect, prevent and report money laundering and terrorist financing and to verify the identity of their customers. Failure of a financial institution to maintain and implement adequate programs to combat money laundering and terrorist financing could have serious consequences for the firm, both in legal terms and in terms of its reputation.

US regulation of other US operations

In the US, UBS Securities LLC and UBS Financial Services Inc., as well as UBS's other US-registered broker-dealer entities, are subject to regulations that cover all aspects of the securities business, including: sales methods; trade practices among broker-dealers; use and safekeeping of customers' funds and securities; capital structure; record-keeping; the financing of customers' purchases; and the conduct of directors, officers and employees.

These entities are regulated by a number of different government agencies and self-regulatory organizations, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Depending upon the specific nature of a broker-dealer's business, it may also be regulated by some or all of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, the US Department of the Treasury, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission and other exchanges of which it may be a member. In addition, the US states, provinces and territories have local securities commissions that regulate and monitor activities in the interest of investor protection. These regulators have a variety of sanctions available, including the authority to conduct administrative proceedings that can result in censure, fines, the issuance of cease-and-desist orders or the suspension or expulsion of the broker-dealer or its directors, officers or employees.

Created in July 2007 through the consolidation of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and the member regulation, enforcement and arbitration functions of the NYSE, FINRA is dedicated to investor protection and market integrity through effective and efficient regulation and complementary compliance and technology-based services.

FINRA covers a broad spectrum of securities businesses, including: registering and educating industry participants; examining securities firms; writing rules; enforcing those rules and the federal securities laws; informing and educating the investing public; providing trade reporting and other industry utilities; and administering a dispute resolution forum for investors and registered firms. It also performs market regulation under contract for the NASDAQ Stock Market, the American Stock Exchange and the Chicago Climate Exchange.