UBS is shedding 20 staff from its Toronto office, including the chief executive of its Canadian operations, Rick Meslin and chief Canadian economist George Vasic.

UBS is shedding 20 staff from its Toronto office, including the chief executive
of its Canadian operations, Rick Meslin, and chief Canadian economist George
Vasic, the Zurich-listed bank has confirmed to this publication.

The other affected posts are middle to senior level positions in
the investment firm's equities research and cash sales and trading divisions. The
work will be absorbed by employees in its New York office, media reports said.WealthBriefing contacted UBS about the reports and it confirmed them as
accurate.

A UBS spokesperson was quoted as saying that the
cuts are part of the company's initiative to be "more focused and more
efficient" by putting together an integrated North American team in charge
of equities.

"These changes will allow us to continue to focus and
meet the needs of our Canadian clients and concentrate our efforts in the areas
that are most relevant to them," the spokesperson was quoted as saying.

The move comes ahead of UBS’ fourth-quarter results that
are due to be issued on 5 February. The bank has said it expects to post a Q4
loss after it settled charges of LIBOR interbank rate manipulation, paying
authorities in the UK, Switzerland and the US a fine totalling around $1.53
billion.

UBS, like many of peers, has been slimming down some of its
business operations, particularly at its investment bank, to restore its profit
margins. In October last year, the firm said it was cutting about 15 per cent
of its worldwide workforce – 10,000 staff – by 2015.

In Canada,
the bank has more than 250 employees.