UBS President defends French tax file in front of shareholders



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Axel Weber, President of the Swiss bank UBS, delivers a speech at the company's Annual General Meeting in Basel, Switzerland on May 2, 2019. REUTERS / Arnd Wiegmann

ZURICH (Reuters) – The UBS group has to sue in France to oppose accusations that the Swiss bank would have helped wealthy clients avoid taxes because they could not find a reasonable settlement, said Thursday. to the shareholders the president Axel Weber.

In February, a French court found UBS guilty of unlawful soliciting of customers and laundering the proceeds of tax evasion, fining it 4.5 billion euros. UBS denies the charges and appeals the decision she described as incomprehensible.

The case provoked a shareholder uprising, which could deny formal approval of the board's and management's performance. This would leave the managers more exposed to potential shareholder lawsuits.

"In the past, we were able to resolve disputes quickly and on acceptable terms, including entering into agreements," Weber told the bank's annual shareholders meeting. "In the case of France, unfortunately, there was no acceptable way to settle the dispute out of court. Therefore, also in the interest of our shareholders, we had no choice but to go to court. "

Shareholders generally approve management's performance for the previous year, but uneasiness over the French legal strategy and the high pay of Switzerland's biggest bank could be a problem at Thursday's meeting.

Last month, proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services said shareholders should not approve the performance of the bank's management.

Ethos Foundation, another shareholder advisory service, recommended to UBS shareholders to reject all compensation proposals from the Swiss bank, including binding votes on bonuses and compensation packages.

Councilor Glbad Lewis also objected to UBS's proposed payment, citing a "pay-for-performance problem," and recommended that shareholders abstain on the issue of the discharge.

Significant evidence of shareholder opposition to the actions of the board and management would be a blow to Weber and its CEO, Sergio Ermotti, who strengthened the provisions to cover the French case but are still waiting for the verdict to be reversed.

Written by Michael Shields. Edited by Jane Merriman

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