UBS Hired More Than 200 U.S. Brokers With ‘Super-Sized’ Bonuses

[Lucky Luciano]

Source: Bloomberg

By Elena Logutenkova
Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- UBS AG, the Swiss bank under
investigation for allegedly helping wealthy Americans evade
taxes, hired more than 200 brokers in the U.S. in the fourth
quarter as it sought to counter client defections.
UBS hired a team of five in Dallas from Goldman Sachs Group
Inc. with $4 billion under management, and a group of the same
number from Morgan Stanley in Houston with $2.1 billion in
assets, Karina Byrne, a spokeswoman for the Zurich-based bank,
said in an interview yesterday.
The largest Swiss bank lured employees from those and other
competitors by offering signing bonuses of as much as 260 percent
of the revenue the brokers brought in over the previous 12
months, said two people with knowledge of the matter who declined
to be identified. By contrast, Merrill Lynch & Co. brokers were
offered up to 100 percent of the revenue they brought in to stay
following the sale to Bank of America Corp.
“It was one of the more aggressive deals that we’ve ever
seen in this industry,” said Rick Peterson, the president of
Rick Peterson & Associates, a recruitment firm in Houston.


Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=avWLjsihhyio

[El Supremo]

1. It didn't help this "defector"

I pulled all my savings out and went to Fidelity.

Nobody tried to stop me. Not even that bastard Phil Gramm.

[defendandprotect]

9. What caused you to pick Fidelity?

[rcsl1998]

2. Did UBS Get Any of 'Hank Paulson's TARP Money?"

[Lucky Luciano]

3. UBS is Swiss...but they took big money from the Swiss government

meaning that the Swiss gov't approved this believing that the poaching would lure assets back to UBS.

[whistle]

4. Right back doing the same old scams

[alcibiades_mystery]

6. What's the scam?

Broker A works at Smith Barney. UBS says "Hey, you wanna work for us, and bring your clients with you?" Broker A says, "OK, but it's gonna cost you 2% of the book up front." UBS says "OK."

It's not a scam. It's a transaction.

[alcibiades_mystery]

5. They are buying the books and the client relationships

These aren't "bonuses." They are walk-across-the-street pay-outs to leave another brokerage.

It's not the same thing. The brokers aren't being "rewarded." They are being paid for successful books.

very dubious headline, since Bloomberg should know better.

[Lucky Luciano]

7. Agreed. nt

[bluesmail]

8. UBS has been 'investigated' about allegations regarding tax evasion/wealthy Americans

A fellow from Liechenstein testified via closed circuit TV about the wealthy clients who hid their assets from our government.