Union Bank of Switzerland

This article is about the UBS predecessor bank merged in 1998. For the active global bank, see UBS.
Union Bank of Switzerland
Company typeAcquired
IndustryBanking
Financial services
Investment services
PredecessorBank in Winterthur (est. 1862)
Toggenburger Bank (est. 1863)
Founded1912
Founder
Defunct1998
FateMerged with Swiss Bank Corporation to form UBS
SuccessorUBS
HeadquartersZürich, Switzerland
Total assetsIncreaseCHF416 billion (1996)[1]
Number of employees
29,100 (1996)[1]

Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS)[a] was a Swiss investment bank and financial services company located in Switzerland. The bank, which at the time was the second largest bank in Switzerland, merged with Swiss Bank Corporation in 1998 to become UBS. This merger formed what was then the largest bank in Europe and the second largest bank in the world.

UBS was formed in 1912 through the merger of the Bank in Winterthur and Toggenburger Bank, both founded in the early 1860s. UBS then continued to grow through acquisitions, including Aargauische Kreditanstalt in 1919, Eidgenössische Bank [de] in 1945, Interhandel Basel in 1967, Phillips & Drew in 1986, and Schröder, Münchmeyer, Hengst & Co. in 1997 among others.

The historical UBS logo comprises the initials "UBS" horizontally, crossed by vertical "SBG", referring to the name of the bank in German. "UBS" ceased to be considered a representational abbreviation for the Union Bank of Switzerland after the bank's 1998 merger with Swiss Bank Corporation and is today considered a standalone brand.

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