UBS Tells Some Managers to Only Hire When Five Leave

Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti has been hit by a slew of bad news, ranging from investor discontent with his strategy to the departure of his former investment bank head to a $5 billion penalty in a French tax case.

That's left the stock trailing the rebound in the shares of its main rivals this year.

UBS said earlier this year that it would slow hiring and deepen cost cuts during one of the worst first quarters in recent history, which forced the bank to cut an additional $300 million in costs.

The bank said this month that the cost cuts announced in March should pay off in the second half of the year.

The Swiss bank slashed thousands of investment banking jobs over the past decade in a pivot toward private banking. While that shift has reduced earnings volatility, it's left the bank open to revenue dips after market corrections or when clients stay on the sidelines.

Its first-quarter results last week were propped up by wealthy private banking customers in Asia, who added the lion's share of net new money to help offset the investment bank, as it battled through a market trough that left many industry players hurting.

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