UBS ex-CEO Arnold upbeat, sees stock near low-paper

* Ex-CEO and shareholder Arnold sees UBS shares near bottom

* Arnold praises new management choices

ZURICH, March 11 (Reuters) - Former UBS AG (UBSN.VX)(UBS.N) Chief Executive Luqman Arnold, a major shareholder who clashed with management last year, was quoted on Wednesday as saying the bank's stock is close to a low and he is upbeat on its future.

Arnold, who is still trying to recover his 2.8 percent stake in UBS from the administrators of collapsed bank Lehman Brothers, also praised the appointment of former Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) head Oswald Gruebel as UBS chief executive.

Asked about UBS's share price, which touched an all-time low of 8.20 Swiss francs on Monday, Arnold told the Tagesanzeiger daily much would depend on the outcome of a U.S. tax probe into the bank.

"The low-point at UBS is near. It depends on the U.S. attacks on UBS and on which measures the G20 countries decide to take against financial centres with banking secrecy and offshore banking," he was quoted saying.

Arnold said he did not think the bank could collapse, noting it still had major advantages including the world's biggest wealth management business. He also praised a radical restructuring of recent months.

After UBS appointed a new chairman a year ago, Arnold criticised the move and demanded a separation of the bank's troubled investment banking business from its money-generating wealth management arm, ideas UBS eventually adopted.

Although Arnold said Chairman Peter Kurer had started to solve the bank's problems, he still welcomed the announcement in recent weeks of Gruebel as new CEO and the appointment of former finance minister Kaspar Villiger to take over as chairman from Kurer.

He said Gruebel had the advantage that he was in retirement in the last few turbulent months, so had maintained his reputation, while Villiger had the advantage of political experience, important given the U.S. tax investigation.

UBS agreed on Feb. 18 to a $780 million fine to avert U.S. criminal charges that Swiss regulators say could have threatened the bank's survival, but is still fighting a civil case that seeks to force it to reveal thousands of client names. (Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by David Holmes) ($1=1.157 Swiss Franc)