UBS may have to pay out loyalty bonuses to staff in the investment bank to encourage them to stay on and help wind down certain units, according to Peter Thorne, an analyst at Helvea SA, a Geneva-based brokerage.
Dominik von Arx, a spokesman in London, declined to comment on what steps UBS is taking to retain staff. UBS employed 17,776 people at the investment bank at the end of the second quarter, and 65,707 company-wide.
The loss resulted from trading in Standard & Poor's 500, DAX and EuroStoxx index futures over the past three months, UBS said on Sept. 18. Kweku Adoboli, 31, a trader on the Delta One desk in London, was charged with fraud and false accounting and remains in custody. He has yet to enter a plea.
Guido Hoymann, a Frankfurt-based analyst at Bankhaus Metzler who recommends investors sell UBS stock, said market conditions will probably limit departures and the bank will fight to keep top performers.
"UBS staff may be more amenable to a move but they would be unwise to do anything rash," said Jonathan Evans, chairman of executive-search firm Sammons Associates in London. "It is still one of the best-regarded investment banks and will do whatever it can to pay staff. I expect people will wait to see what the future of the firm looks like and what bonuses are offered."