UBS HAS BEATEN several others to the draw by making a knockout, slam-dunk bid for PaineWebber. Wasn't it only a year ago that there were rumours that UBS chairman Marcel Ospel was to bin Warburg Dillon Read and exit investment banking altogether? Underneath this merger both sides are secretly making an admission. Marcel Ospel and John Costas have had to bite the bullet and admit that UBS in the US was never going to make it to the Superbowl final in spite of spending billions of dollars. Don Marron at PaineWebber has looked into his morning shaving mirror and had to admit that PaineWebber was falling further behind Wall Street's bulge bracket houses and would soon be used as a punchbag.
July 14, 2000
