UBS has made goodwill payments to several clients impacted by losses from structured dollar products, according to the Financial Times (paywalled article) on Tuesday.

Around 100 Swiss clients have been compensated out of goodwill. They had incurred substantial losses from the foreign exchange derivatives distributed by the bank after Donald Trump’s «Liberation Day» tariffs in early April caused severe turbulence in the dollar exchange rate.

UBS conducted an internal investigation into the customer complaints, reviewing all clients who had purchased the derivatives, according to sources. The report states that for some clients, the bank identified excessively high risk exposures relative to their assets and took action to correct those positions.

Around 100 Individuals Have Received Payments

Several individuals familiar with the matter said that around 100 affected clients received payments following the review.

The foreign exchange product in question is tailored for professional and risk-tolerant investors. Clients agreed to regularly exchange dollars for Swiss francs at a fixed rate, as long as the exchange rate remained within a certain corridor.

After the exchange rate fluctuations in April, clients were forced to continue trading under increasingly unfavorable conditions, which led to significant losses.

Not Fully or Clearly Informed About Risks

«These products transfer risk from the bank to the client, who is left with minimal upside potential and a high risk of loss,» said Nicolas Ollivier, a lawyer at the Lalive firm, which represents several private and corporate clients in the case. «The documents show that clients were not fully or clearly informed about these risks.»

UBS stated that its internal task force's work is nearly complete, although discussions with some clients are still ongoing. The conduct of some of the bank’s client advisors is also under review.

Some affected clients who neither received goodwill payments nor compensation have filed criminal complaints. These were reportedly filed against persons unknown on grounds of unfair competition and are currently in the preliminary investigation phase, according to the Zurich public prosecutor's office.

Aggressive Marketing

Two clients told the Financial Times that the products were aggressively pitched to them, despite their expressed concerns about the risks.

One client reportedly lost over 3 million francs, according to their lawyer. Another client—classified as having a medium risk tolerance—only received the corresponding risk assessment form for signature months after entering the investment.

This second person lost 15 percent of their assets and asked the bank to exit the product just days after Trump’s «Liberation Day,» before the dollar dropped further and triggered even greater losses.

«I repeatedly expressed concerns about the product and said I didn’t understand it. They kept telling me not to worry and that they would simply restructure it,» the person said.

Each Case Reviewed Individually

«We have investigated this matter and found that a very small number of clients at a few locations in Switzerland experienced unexpected effects from market volatility related to U.S. tariffs in April 2025,» UBS said in a statement. «We have taken this matter seriously from the beginning and have reviewed each client case individually.»