* Pilot scheme dress code covers make-up and underwear
* Part of wider drive to restore bank's image
ZURICH, Dec 14 UBS (UBS.N)UBSN.VX is aiming to
polish its tarnished image with a new dress code, as it seeks to
regain the faith of retail clients after posting the biggest
loss in Swiss corporate history during the financial crisis.
A 52-page internal document seen by Reuters advises
customer-facing staff in five pilot scheme branches on how to
make a good impression with customers by choosing flesh-coloured
underwear and stockings, and avoiding smelly foods and tobacco.
The dress code, being tested for possible rollout to around
1,500 staff in all 300 Swiss branches, tells female employees
that wearing make-up gives the impression of competence, and
warns of the dangers of wearing too-tight underwear and shoes.
The drive to smarten up staff is part of a wider campaign to
improve the Swiss public's perception of the country's top bank,
bailed out by the government after writing down more than 50
billion Swiss francs ($51.67 billion) of toxic assets.
Chief Executive Oswald Gruebel, a big motor racing fan, is
banking on a Formula 1 sponsorship deal to attract clients in
growing wealth management markets like Asia and South America.
But the bank pulled a reference to architect Le Corbusier
from a high-profile advertising launch using famous people from
history, after it drew criticism from Jewish campaigners
unsettled by Le Corbusier's reputedly anti-Semitic opinions.
The new dress code was originally written as a guide for
those people attending corporate events who intermittently
worked for the bank, said UBS spokesman Jean-Raphael Fontannaz.
"They are meant as recommendations and not as hard and fast
rules," Fontannaz said. "It remains to be decided whether the
guidelines will be extended to all 300 Swiss branches, depending
on how they are received by staff in the five pilot branches."
($1=.9677 Swiss Franc)
(Reporting by Jason Rhodes and Martin de Sa'Pinto; editing by
David Hulmes)
