Chrysler CEO Marchionne to step down from board of Swiss bank

September 29, 2009
ZURICH (Reuters) — Fiat S.p.A. and Chrysler Group CEO Sergio Marchionne will not stand for reelection to the board of the Swiss bank UBS AG next year, the bank said on Tuesday.
Marchionne was elected to the UBS board in 2007 and appointed vice chairman in 2008.

The bank said Marchionne would like in future to focus on his current demanding management positions and had therefore decided not to seek any further mandates at UBS.

Marchionne had been mentioned as a possible alternative CEO for UBS in the midst of its troubles earlier this year but the bank turned to former Credit Suisse boss Oswald Gruebel.

Marchionne, who suggested earlier this year he might step down from the UBS board, has been busy this year after Fiat absorbed 20 percent of Chrysler.

Also stepping down from the UBS board is Royal Dutch Shell CEO Peter Voser.

Voser earlier this year announced a reorganization of the oil company’s worldwide exploration and production operations.

UBS was brought to its knees by the subprime crisis and had to be bailed out by the state while also suffering a damaging U.S. tax probe.

The bank said it would provide information at a later stage on candidates to succeed the outgoing board members.

GM, Chrysler dealer closings to be audited by U.S. Treasury

WASHINGTON — The dealership terminations by General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group will be audited by the inspector general for the U.S. Treasury Department’s financial bailout, the inspector is expected to say in congressional testimony.
The audit will take place at the same time that dealer-rights negotiations are due to get under way, involving the two automakers, dealer groups, key lawmakers and the Obama administration’s auto task force.

A separate audit likely will be conducted of Treasury’s ownership and management of GM since the company emerged from bankruptcy.

Neil Barofsky, special inspector general for Treasury’s $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, was appointed by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate in December 2008.

In written testimony due to be delivered today before the Senate Banking Committee, Barofsky says his dealer audit “will examine the process used by General Motors and Chrysler to identify which automotive dealerships should be maintained or terminated.”

Many dealers have complained that the process was arbitrary and resulted in the closing of profitable stores.

GM and Chrysler say the terminations were carefully chosen to increase the automakers’ prospects for restoring profit after bankruptcy.

Not clear yet

Barofsky does not say when the audit will be completed or whether his findings will be shared with the congressionally sponsored negotiations.

Chrysler has terminated 789 dealerships, or a quarter of its U.S. total, and GM has begun shuttering 1,350 stores by October 2010.

The settlement talks, which have not begun, were intended as an alternative to legislation that would reverse the dealer terminations. The legislation passed the House but stalled in the Senate.

Barofsky also says he will audit “governance issues when the U.S. government has obtained a large ownership interest in a particular institution.” The government holds a 60 percent stake in GM after investing more than $50 billion.

Barofsky’s testimony doesn’t say specifically that he will audit GM.

This audit will examine “the extent of government involvement in management” of these companies, his testimony says. It also will look at risk management, monitoring, internal controls, performance measures and transparency at the companies.

Barofsky, a former federal prosecutor, can be fired only by the president, his spokeswoman said. He files periodic reports of his audits and investigations with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Congress.

Barofsky’s office has 86 employees and plans to grow to 160, according to his testimony.