UBS Pares Down Monoline Exposures

UBS during the second quarter still was working on reducing monoline insurance risks that can be traced partially back to U.S. residential real estate finance exposures, but it said in an earnings report that as of July it had agreed to commute certain trades with insurers, mitigating those bond insurance risks. Monoline risk exposures, about one-third of which were linked to credit protection on subprime and other U.S. residential mortgage-backed security collateralized debt obligations, were among "identified risk concentrations" listed in the company's first-quarter financials. But UBS said that during the period and in July it "agreed to commute certain trades with three monoline insurers which significantly decreased remaining exposures." During the second quarter, UBS took a loss of 1.4 billion Swiss francs ($1.3 billion). This was greater than the net loss of 395 million Swiss francs ($372 million) seen during the same period last year but an improvement over the loss of 1.97 billion Swiss francs ($1.86 billion) seen in the first quarter. The company said its second quarter loss "was driven by lower losses on risk positions now exited or in the process of being exited by the investment bank" and "significantly affected" by charges for own credit on financial liabilities designated at fair value, restructuring and goodwill impairment charges in relation to the sale of a unit.