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The article reports on a January 2008 announcement from the Swiss bank UBS AG. In the announcement the bank indicated that its 2007 losses from involvement with subprime mortgages will be $4 billion more than it had previously thought, and that it would take its third writedown in four months, which would bring the financial total of its writedowns to $18.4 billion for 2007.

The article focuses on the December decision of the Swiss bank UBS to write down its subprime mortgage investments by $10 billion more than it had planned, and on the role the ABX index played in the decision. Prior to making the decision the bank looked to the index, which tracks the value of securities backed by subprime home loans, to see whether it should take the additional writedown.

The article focuses on a $10 billion write down which was seen at the Swiss bank UBS as a result of its involvement with subprime mortgage loans, and on an $11.5 billion bailout which the bank received from the government investment arm of Singapore and an unnamed Middle Eastern investor. Concerns about the financial status of other banks which were raised after the announcement of the write down and bailout are discussed.

The article reports on a corporate turnaround which is being attempted at the Swiss bank UBS AG by its chief executive Marcel Rohner, following an announcement from the bank which indicated that it was facing a 2007 third quarter loss of as much as $687 million as a result of its involvement in investments linked to U.S. mortgages.