UBS (Union Bank of Switzerland)

Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) was at one point in time one of the largest integrated financial services firms in Switzerland. In 1998, UBS (at the time was the second largest bank in Switzerland) merged with Swiss Bank Corporation to become UBS AG and form what was then the largest bank in Europe and the second largest bank in the world.

UBS was formed in 1912 after the merger of the Bank in Winterthur and the Toggenburger Bank (both founded in the early 1860s). UBS grew in size after continued acquisitions. Some of the more notable acquisitions included Aargauische Kreditanstalt in 1919, Eidgenössische Bank in 1945, Interhandel Basel in 1967, Phillips & Drew in 1986, and Schröder, Münchmeyer, Hengst & Co. in 1997, among others.

The chronicled ...