A tiny majority of shareholders of Swiss giant UBS have voted against the bank’s decision to fight a tax battle instead of settling it out of court.
Investors were asked to give UBS’s board and top executives immunity from legal liability – with an incredibly tight margin of 0.03% giving victory to those opposed to the measure.
- Against: 41.67%
- For: 41.64%
- Abstained: 16.69%
But the victory was hollow as it was not enough for the decision to pass.
Axel Weber, chairman of the board of directors, said to shareholders: “I interpret your decision as a reflection of your concern about uncertainty surrounding the ongoing court case in France, and that you want to keep all possible legal options open.
“I can understand that. So, allow me again to make the personal remark from the point of view of the bank’s present-day leadership that it had no responsibility in relation to this case at the time.”
The French case
The record fine of €4.5bn (£3.8bn, $5bn) was handed down by a French court in February 2019 after UBS was found guilty of helping its rich French clients evade paying tax and laundering the proceeds.
But the Swiss bank believes the verdict should be reversed as the judgement was not supported by the facts.
When talking to shareholders, Weber added: “In our view, the trial in France did not show in any way that UBS failed to comply with the regulations that applied at the time in France and Switzerland.
“It was not possible to reach an acceptable out-of-court settlement in the France case. That’s why we decided to defend the bank in court. We believe this was in the best interests of shareholders.”
