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ZURICH (Switzerland) - UBS AG said on Wednesday that shareholders will receive a considerably lower dividend for 2007 than in previous years because of massive write-downs caused by the subprime crisis.
Switzerland's largest bank said shareholders will receive one new share for every twenty they already hold. UBS announced in December that it would replace its 2007 cash dividend to shareholders with a stock dividend.
The stock dividend amounts to 1.69 Swiss francs (S$2.30) at current market prices.
This compares with a 2.20-franc-a-share dividend (S$2.40) for 2006 when UBS posted a net profit of 12.26 billion francs (S$13.26 million).
Shares in UBS were up 1.90 per cent at 34.36 francs in Zurich.
UBS has suffered write-downs totaling US$37.4 billion over the past nine months - the largest reported so far by any bank with exposure to risky securities based on U.S. mortgages.
The Zurich-based bank posted a net loss of 4.38 billion francs for the full year, its first annual closing in the red.
Chairman Marcel Ospel announced earlier this month that he would step down after the bank reported further severe losses for the first quarter because of the subprime mortgage crisis.
UBS said it was seeking 15 billion Swiss francs in new capital.
The capital increase and a vote to elect Peter Kurer as new chairman are on the agenda for the April 23 shareholders annual meeting in Basel. -- AP
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