UBS AG will reorganise its troubled investment bank, closing its commodities business and cutting a further 2,000 jobs, the Swiss bank said today.
The news comes a day after Switzerland's largest bank said it turned a small profit in the third quarter after a year of losses, signalling it had started to turn the corner even as the credit crisis engulfs many peers.
The 2,000 job losses come on top of 4,100 investment banking positions cut in the past year as the bank moved to shore up its financial position after $42 billion of writedowns caused by its US subprime mortgage exposure.
UBS said it will aim to maintain the strengths of its equities business in cash distribution, derivatives and prime services and seek further efficiency gains.
It will also continue to provide investment bank clients with strategic advice and access to the capital markets, UBS said.
"While the revenue outlook is uncertain, these measures will allow us to focus on our strengths, reduce the cost base to a more sustainable level and position our core businesses for growth once fundamentals improve," said Jerker Johansson, chairman and chief executive of UBS's investment bank.
Among banks trading commodities, UBS currently ranks in a second-tier group behind top players Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
The company exited some continental European power and gas markets earlier this year but maintained power and gas operations elsewhere in northwest Europe, UK and North America.