UBS 'may post writedowns'

UBS AG may post $6.9 billion of additional writedowns and seek to raise more capital, Citigroup Inc said, a day after Chairman Peter Kurer told a newspaper the largest Swiss bank won't need more funds.

The Zurich-based company, which wrote down $38 billion over the past three quarters, still carries $83 billion of "risk exposures that are likely to require further markdowns," London-based Citigroup analyst Jeremy Sigee said in a note.

Sigee, who rates UBS a "hold" with a "high-risk" caveat, estimates the company may post a loss of 4.5 billion Swiss francs ($4.4 billion), and announce writedowns of as much as 7 billion francs when it reports second-quarter earnings Aug 12. JPMorgan Chase & Co analysts yesterday said UBS may need to mark down its assets by a further 5.1 billion francs.