Swiss Bank Ubs Eyeing Brickell Hq

By Wayne Tompkins
Swiss banking giant UBS appears to be the mystery international bank considering a headquarters on Brickell Avenue that would create 200 high-paying jobs, according to a review of county documents and the company’s Web site.

Indications are that the bank is considering a 35-story high-rise scheduled for completion in 2009 at 1450 Brickell Ave. as one of three potential sites for a $37 million facility.

Atlanta and Brazil also are in the running.

"We have no comment," said Kris Kagel, a spokesman in New York for the Zurich global bank.

A description of the bank in its application for Miami-Dade County incentives closely matches information found on UBS’ Web site.

For example, the application mentions the company donating "$31 million to charities and 3,800 employees volunteering 50,000 hours," which, after converting the $31 million figure from Swiss francs, matches a passage found on the bank’s Web site.

UBS, which has two facilities in Miami and one in Coral Gables, also meets the application’s description of three facilities distributed in those cities.

UBS is a leading global wealth manager, a top-tier investment-banking and securities firm and one of the largest global asset managers.

"If you can get a bank like UBS, that would be a real feather in the cap for Brickell and our international banking community," said Ken Thomas, an independent banking consultant in Miami. "With international banking, you really have to have a presence in Miami."

The Beacon Council, which has been working to recruit the company, had no comment.

The Miami-Dade County commission recently approved a $1.6 million incentive package for the bank, whose name is concealed in county documents.

The bank will provide $130,000 in average individual yearly wages and a $32,500 annual employee benefit package. Advertisement