UBS announced fourth quarter results of a loss of 12.5 billion Sfr, which was in line with its January 30 preliminary estimate. The most interesting item was the breakdown of its $13.7 billion writedown. From Bloomberg:
UBS’s writedowns included $10.8 billion on subprime residential mortgages, $2 billion on so-called Alt-A mortgages, which fall between subprime and prime, and $871 million on credit protection purchased from monoline insurers. The bank recorded losses of about $500 million on commercial real estate and about $200 million on loans for leveraged buyouts.
UBS reiterated today that 2008 will be “another difficult year.”
