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UBS in its annual report has disclosed that it has about $200m exposure to Russian assets that were used as collateral in loans.
The Swiss wealth manager also revealed that it has $10m of loans outstanding to its wealth management clients hit by sanctions in the wake of Russia’s invasion over Ukraine.
At the end of 2021, UBS’ direct risk exposure to Russia amounted to $634m out of its total emerging market exposure worth $20.9bn.
The bank had $51m of assets in its Russian subsidiary, according to the report.
The report also said that the bank had no material direct country risk exposures to Ukraine and Belarus as of 31 December 2021.
UBS CEO Ralph Hamers and chairman Axel Weber said: “We are working to implement sanctions imposed by Switzerland, the US, the EU, the UK and others — all of which have announced unprecedented levels of sanctions against Russia and certain Russian entities and nationals.”
Last week, UBS triggered margin calls to its wealth management customers last amid escalating sanctions on Russia by the US and its allies.
The bank urged the investors to add either cash or securities to their portfolio after cutting the lending value of some debt from Russia to zero.
The wealth management clients Credit Suisse also received margin calls last week.
The bank asked its wealthy clients to post more collateral after slashing lending values on Russian securities, according to a Bloomberg report citing people aware of the development.
