UBS top job a poisoned chalice

Under former all-powerful chairman Marcel Ospel, UBS , the world's largest wealth manager, waded deep into U.S. subprime assets and could report on Tuesday a net loss of up to 21 billion Swiss francs (12 billion pounds) in 2008, the largest annual loss in Swiss corporate history.

Rohner, 44, was named CEO just before the subprime meltdown in June 2007 and was thrown into steering UBS through its monumental crisis. Together with Chairman Peter Kurer, who replaced Ospel in April 2008, he tried to break from the past by announcing a radical restructuring plan in August.

But there is growing concern in Switzerland that the changes are not being implemented fast enough and that a new management team may be needed to start attracting clients again.

"Rohner and Kurer are both men of the past. They belong to the management team of Ospel," said Lukas Haessig, a Swiss journalist and the author of investigative book "Der UBS-Crash" (The UBS-Crash).

"For a year now they have been trying to turn around the bank and did not succeed in bringing back the confidence. Time is running out," said Haessig, whose book came out on Monday.

Rohner became CEO when his predecessor abruptly resigned in what media then described as a boardroom battle.

Open and laid-back, Rohner, who has spent nearly his entire career at UBS, makes a stark contrast with the sober approach of Kurer, the bank's former general counsel.

Rohner, who was deputy CEO and head of UBS's prized wealth management arm, found himself having to scramble for investors' cash in the face of growing writedowns while trying to fend off a damaging U.S. probe into allegations the bank helped Americans hide money to avoid taxes.

On the brink of collapse, UBS had to turn to the state for help in October and got a 6 billion franc loan.