Royal Bank of Scotland upgraded UBS to hold from sell, citing the U.S. proposal to buy up real estate assets from banks, reported Marketwatch.
RBS said it expects UBS to still face a tough second half, but added 2009 should present an inflection point for the stock as the focus returns to its core wealth management business. On HSBC, RBS said the U.S. initiative removed the principal reason for its sell rating, which was that the bank's $108 billion asset backed securities portfolio could lead to further destruction of its tangible common equity.