UBS Writes Down $10B; Sells $11.5B Stake

Investors from Singapore and the Mideast will breathe $11.5 billion in new capital into UBS as the Swiss banking giant announces that it will write down an additional $10 billion in subprime holdings, Bloomberg reports. The bank said the subprime losses, the biggest  by a European bank, will wipe out expected fourth quarter profits, resulting in a loss for the year.

UBS said the government of Singapore's investment arm will buy a 9% stake in the bank for 11 billion francs. An unidentified Middle Eastern investor, rumored to be the government of Abu Dhabi, which last month poured $7.5 billion into Citigroup, will add 2 billion more. UBS shares rose 1.5 francs to 58.7 francs, after initially dropping as much as 3.4%. (More UBS stories.)