Little-known lawyer to lift UBS out of abyss

By Douwe Miedema

ZURICH (Reuters) - Putting UBS back on its feet would be a daunting task even for somebody with more banking experience than little-known lawyer Peter Kurer, its prospective new chairman.

The world's largest wealth manager has notched up the heaviest subprime writedowns of any bank in the world, forcing it to undertake two huge emergency cash injections.

Some shareholders are calling for the bank to break up, fearing that damage in its investment bank could spread to its key business with rich clients.

Kurer, a 58-year-old Swiss, has little banking experience to offer for the Herculean task, but he knows UBS (UBSN.VX) inside out after seven years as its top legal adviser.

"I'm not sure this is the profile the market had been anticipating," said Andreas Venditti, equity analyst at Zuercher Kantonalbank, a regional bank.

"The good thing is, he may not be known to the outside world, but inside, he's well known," Venditti said.

Kurer is expected to succeed Marcel Ospel at a shareholder meeting on Wednesday, after UBS dumped the man who made it one of the world's biggest financial institutions only to leave it in its severest crisis ever.

Kurer, a father of three, did not feature in media speculation that included hot shots like Fiat (FIA.MI) Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne and controversial billionaire Swiss industrialist Christoph Blocher.