UBS has written down a total of $18 billion for 2007, after confessing it expected a fourth-quarter loss of $11.5 billion following $14.7 billion of sub-prime writedowns.
The figure constitutes the largest quarterly amount lost by any bank in the world so far, as a result of the sub-prime crisis.
Analysts had predicted that the bank would have to write down $6.9 billion and UBS bosses had predicted taking a $10.5 billion hit.
However, the news only dented UBS shares slightly, dropping 1.7% at the close of trading on Wednesday.
Investors were perhaps reassured by the fact that UBS plans to raise $17.7 billion in fresh capital and were encouraged by the transparency with which the bank disclosed the news.
The company also revealed it has raised an additional $9.5 billion from a Singapore government fund, as well as a further $1.5 billion from a Middle Eastern investor,
However, analysts warn that UBS’s wealth management branch could be affected by its massive news in the first half of 2008.