Peter Kurer has resigned from his post as chairman of Swiss banking giant UBS after just over a year in the job. From 2001 to 2008, he was the company’s general counsel.
The resignation comes hot on the heels of the bank’s tax-shelter scandal and its subsequent spat with the IRS over the disclosure of 52,000 customers. The WSJ puts at least part of the reason for the resignation on Kurer’s former role:
Increasingly, UBS’s board believed Mr. Kurer would be a liability, said the person familiar with the bank. Mr. Kurer was UBS’s top lawyer in March 2006 when Bradley Birkenfeld, a UBS private banker, alerted the bank to questionable tax-and-client practices, and questions had increased over whether UBS took enough steps to investigate the problems. Mr. Birkenfeld, who pleaded guilty to one charge of abetting tax evasion, ultimately became a top source for government investigators.
Another good reason: UBS closed at $33.59 on Kurer’s first day on the job (April 23, 2008). It closed at $8.35 on Tuesday, prior to Kurer’s announcement.
Kurer joined Baker & McKenzie in 1980 and left as a partner in 1990. He has a law degree from the University of Zurich and an LLM from the University of Chicago.
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Well, SOMEONE has to take responsibilty for the mess. Everyone feigns ignorance.