UBS Will Not Take Legal Action Over Subprime Losses

Switzerland's UBS (UBS) will not take legal action against former employees for racking up the massive losses on subprime mortgages that left the company needing a bailout.

Kaspar Villiger, the UBS chairman, said that company was looking to the future, according to The Associated Press.

"What happened should not have been allowed to happen. With our decision to refrain from legal proceedings, we do not want to gloss over the mistakes made by UBS or absolve those involved of their corporate responsibility," Villiger said in a statement. "Today, we have laid the foundation for drawing a line under the future."

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The bank said that it had failed to properly plan its expansion into investment banking and that the incentive structure encouraged taking excessive risks.

"Despite warnings, the bank falsely believed that its financial products in relation to the U.S. real estate market were valuable and sufficiently hedged against losses," the report said.

Still, taking legal action against former employees would be a mistake because of the costs, uncertain outcome and negative publicity, the report said.