HSH Nordbank to pursue legal proceedings against UBS
Hamburg/Kiel, February 24, 2008 - HSH Nordbank announces that it has decided to start legal proceedings against UBS to recover significant losses incurred on a US$ 500 million portfolio of CDOs (collateralised debt obligations) linked to the US mortgage market which were structured and sold by UBS. The investments were sold by UBS in 2002 to Landesbank Schleswig-Holstein which subsequently merged with Hamburgische Landesbank to become HSH Nordbank AG. HSH Nordbank has only taken this action after careful consideration and on legal advice. It expects to file its claim against UBS in the State of New York by the end of February.
HSH Nordbank’s claims relate to CDOs known as “North Street 2002-4”. UBS arranged the CDO and manages the portfolio of assets held by North Street 2002-4 on a discretionary basis. HSH Nordbank will claim that UBS’s management of the portfolio has been in breach of its contractual obligations and fiduciary duties and that substitutions were made solely for the benefit of UBS.
Bernhard Blohm of HSH Nordbank commented:
“Our investment in the North Street program was to be conservatively managed by UBS according to prudent investment objectives. Our claims against UBS will show that the manner in which the investments were sold to HSH Nordbank and UBS’s subsequent management of the assets were clearly contrary to our interests.
We came to the realization that the world’s largest asset manager, UBS, appears to have condoned actions which benefited only itself, at the expense of its clients. After repeated attempts to discuss our concerns with senior management at UBS, we find that, with regret, we have no alternative but to commence legal proceedings against UBS. HSH Nordbank is committed to the prudent management of its capital and to the recovery of its losses which we regard as the responsibility of UBS.”
Further information: www.hsh-nordbank.com
About HSH Nordbank
HSH Nordbank AG is one of Germany’s major financial institutions with assets of EUR 207 Billion as of 30 September 2007. It offers clients a broad range of innovative financial solutions in all business areas, with particular expertise in transportation, logistics, infrastructure, energy and real estate finance. HSH is the largest provider of shipping finance in the world and a market leader in renewable energy finance. HSH Nordbank AG was created on June 2, 2003 from the merger of Hamburgische Landesbank with Landesbank Schleswig-Holstein (LB Kiel).
The information contained in this press release does not constitute an offer for the sale of any type of Hamburg Commercial Bank AG securities. Securities of Hamburg Commercial Bank AG may not be sold in the United States without registration pursuant to US securities legislation, unless such a sale takes place on the basis of relevant exceptional provisions.
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