Union Bank of Switzerland

Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) 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 to form 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 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, referring to the "Union Bank of Switzerland", "Union de Banques Suisses" or "Unione di Banche Svizzere", crossed by vertical "SBG", referring to the name of the bank in German "Schweizerische Bankgesellschaft". "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. 1980–1998