UBS may quit Stamford for Manhattan, anchoring 3 WTC as prospect

UBS is allegedly planning to mograte its Stamford staff back to Manhattan, and the move is expected by 2015.

UBS has been going through a rough time, facing record losses during financial crisis, hitting the lowest 2010 revenue among the prominent investment banks, and seeing senior departures such as Neil Jeans, Dimitrios Psyllidis, Neal Shear to name a few. At least 50 departures from its U.S. investment-banking unit were seen since 2009.

At the beginning of the month, media reported that the Swiss company may move staff of its U.S. investment bank from Stamford, Connecticut, to the World Trade Center in Manhattan by 2015. UBS is in discussion with New York developer Larry Silverstein for occupying about 800,000 square feet at Three World Trade Center, Businessweek reported on June 1. The return of UBS is likely to be welcomed by New York City, which was facing a wave of corporate departures to the surrounding cities of Connecticut and New Jersey, as the growth of computerized trading and telecommunications reduce the necessity for financial firms to stay on Wall Street.

In the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut region, UBS leases more than 3 million square feet of office space for various operations. The company's Stamford expansion was completed in 2002, where it created a trading floor for 1,400 people. The hour-long commute from the Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan has annoyed UBS employees and alienated the competitive candidates. At its Stamford office, around 3,000 employees are currently working.

Connecticut may wage a battle to keep UBS in Stamford, where it is the largest private employer and the biggest taxpayer, said the New York Times.

UBS had already considered and rejected two Manhattan locations before the World Trade Center came into its scope.