Waterbuffalo
02-24-2008, 08:06 PM
FInd the article here:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=aW2isJvj7WAk&refer=germany
HSH Nordbank Will Sue UBS in New York to Recoup Subprime Losses
By Heather Smith
Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- HSH Nordbank AG, a German state-owned bank, said it will sue UBS AG, Europe's largest bank by assets, in New York this week to recover losses on a $500 million portfolio linked to the U.S. subprime mortgage market.
``After repeated attempts to discuss our concerns with senior management at UBS, we find that, with regret, we have no alternative but to commence legal proceedings,'' HSH Nordbank spokesman Bernhard Blohm said in an e-mailed statement today.
UBS spokesman Axel Langer said the bank had no comment.
HSH Nordbank said it bought North Street 2002-4, a portfolio of collateralized debt obligations tied to the U.S. mortgage market, in 2002. Zurich-based UBS violated ``contractual obligations and fiduciary duties'' by changing the portfolio in ways ``solely for the benefit of UBS,'' the Hamburg-based bank said in the statement. HSH described its losses as ``significant.''
CDOs package assets such as mortgage bonds and buyout loans and use the income from that debt to pay investors in the new securities. The collapse of the U.S. market for subprime loans has made these investments riskier.
On Feb. 14, UBS took a $10.8 billion writedown on subprime residential mortgages. The bank said it still had about $27.6 billion of positions linked to the U.S. subprime residential mortgage market at the end of the year, down from $38.8 billion on Sept. 28.
HSH plans to file the claim by the end of February in New York, it said in the statement. In a telephone interview today, spokesman Rune Hoffmann would not give a date for the filing.
The suit was reported earlier today in the Sunday Times. Asset writedowns and credit losses at more than 30 of the world's largest banks and securities firms stemming from the collapse of the U.S. subprime market amount to more than $163 billion since the start of 2007.
To contact the reporter on this story: Heather Smith in Paris at hsmith26@bloomberg.net
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=aW2isJvj7WAk&refer=germany
HSH Nordbank Will Sue UBS in New York to Recoup Subprime Losses
By Heather Smith
Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- HSH Nordbank AG, a German state-owned bank, said it will sue UBS AG, Europe's largest bank by assets, in New York this week to recover losses on a $500 million portfolio linked to the U.S. subprime mortgage market.
``After repeated attempts to discuss our concerns with senior management at UBS, we find that, with regret, we have no alternative but to commence legal proceedings,'' HSH Nordbank spokesman Bernhard Blohm said in an e-mailed statement today.
UBS spokesman Axel Langer said the bank had no comment.
HSH Nordbank said it bought North Street 2002-4, a portfolio of collateralized debt obligations tied to the U.S. mortgage market, in 2002. Zurich-based UBS violated ``contractual obligations and fiduciary duties'' by changing the portfolio in ways ``solely for the benefit of UBS,'' the Hamburg-based bank said in the statement. HSH described its losses as ``significant.''
CDOs package assets such as mortgage bonds and buyout loans and use the income from that debt to pay investors in the new securities. The collapse of the U.S. market for subprime loans has made these investments riskier.
On Feb. 14, UBS took a $10.8 billion writedown on subprime residential mortgages. The bank said it still had about $27.6 billion of positions linked to the U.S. subprime residential mortgage market at the end of the year, down from $38.8 billion on Sept. 28.
HSH plans to file the claim by the end of February in New York, it said in the statement. In a telephone interview today, spokesman Rune Hoffmann would not give a date for the filing.
The suit was reported earlier today in the Sunday Times. Asset writedowns and credit losses at more than 30 of the world's largest banks and securities firms stemming from the collapse of the U.S. subprime market amount to more than $163 billion since the start of 2007.
To contact the reporter on this story: Heather Smith in Paris at hsmith26@bloomberg.net