* Currently No.3 in equities - investment bank co-head
* Wants to be top 5 in fixed income - Kengeter tells Bilanz
* Investment bank suffered shock 406 mln Sfr loss in Q3
ZURICH, Dec 3 (Reuters) - UBS wants to regain its top position in equities trading and become a top five fixed-income player as Switzerland’s biggest bank pushes to increase the profitability of its investment bank, the division’s co-chief was reported as saying on Friday.
UBS UBS.NUBSN.VX, which was forced to cut investment banking risk-taking after it wrote down more than $50 billion in the credit crisis, forcing it to accept a government bailout, reported a shock investment banking loss in the third quarter on sluggish trading. [ID:nLDE69O0N5] The bank, which has hired around 1,000 new staff to bolster its investment banking business potential needed to gain market share in key areas to boost profitability, investment bank co-chief Carsten Kengeter said in an interview with Swiss business magazine Bilanz.
“Currently we are placed third. We have to become number one again. And we will achieve this,” Kengeter said, when asked about the banks equities trading business.
The bank also needed to improve on its position outside the top 10 in fixed income trading, he said.
“This business is only interesting from a profit point of view among the top five. We have to get there.”
Kengeter told investors in November that UBS was well placed to benefit from an upturn in client activity after hiring new staff, though trading growth would also mean more risk. [ID:nLDE6AE1QU]
UBS is focusing its investment banking activities on the client flow business and away from riskier proprietary trading. (Reporting by Jason Rhodes; Editing by Hans Peters)
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