Swiss bank UBS has confirmed that it is closing down its private banking operation in Portugal, which has only been open for a year, in response to a deteriorating economic environment.

When contacted by WealthBriefing, UBS did not elaborate on the number of staff who would be affected by the closure, nor the amount of assets under management overseen by its Portuguese arm.

UBS’ Portuguese wealth management operation opened in February 2008 and had only four client advisors.

"The Portuguese domestic development was a natural development of a global expansive period, which is no longer the case. The fact that the level of development is very low should have little impact on our clients franchise," a spokesperson told WealthBriefing.

In other parts of the world, UBS was reported late last year to be making job cuts at its US wealth management arm, with cuts falling on support roles. On the other hand, the firm has recently stated it expects to see rapid growth in assets at its wealth management business in Taiwan, for example.

As at the end of September 2008, UBS’ global wealth management and business banking division oversaw SFr 2.9 trillion ($2.6 trillion) in client assets.