UBS and RBS confirm exposure to LyondellBasell

ZURICH/LONDON (Reuters) - European lenders Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS confirmed they had some exposure to chemicals company LyondellBasell ACCEIN.UL, whose U.S. unit filed for bankruptcy, but declined to give details.

Swiss bank UBS (UBSN.VX) (UBS.N) said its exposure to LyondellBasel was included in a $4.7 billion (3.1 billion pound) leveraged finance exposure figure given with its third-quarter results, but did not say how much of this was related to the chemicals group.

Analysts estimate UBS's exposure to the chemicals group could be $1 billion.

Concern about RBS's (RBS.L) exposure to the chemicals company contributed to a drop of as much as 5 percent in its shares on Wednesday. UBS, whose stock had shed more than 2 percent at one stage on Tuesday, slipped 1.2 percent by 11:57 a.m., while the DJ Stoxx European bank index .SX7P was down 0.3 percent.

"As disclosed in third-quarter results, UBS has a remaining net exposure of $4.7 billion to leveraged finance commitments, which we continue to actively manage," UBS said in a statement.

"Our credit exposure to LyondellBasell is included in this overall exposure. We do not disclose exposure to individual counterparties."

The U.S. operations of LyondellBasell, the world's third-largest petrochemical company, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday under the weight of a massive debt load and slumping demand for its products.

RBS and UBS are two of several lenders to the company.

"We have a banking relationship with LyondellBasell Industries and we will continue to work with the company to reach a successful outcome," a spokesman for RBS said. He declined to comment further.