UBS AG is a Swiss global
financial services company, incorporated in the
Canton of Zurich, and co-headquartered in
Zurich and
Basel. The company provides
wealth management,
asset management, and
investment banking services for private, corporate, and institutional clients worldwide, and is generally considered to be a
bulge bracket bank. In Switzerland, these services are also offered to retail clients. The name
UBS was originally an abbreviation for the
Union Bank of Switzerland, but it ceased to be a representational abbreviation after the bank's merger with
Swiss Bank Corporation in 1998. The company traces its origins to 1856, when the earliest of its predecessor banks was founded.