UBS (France) S.A. products, services and reviews

About UBS (France) S.A.

UBS (France) S.A. was the French banking subsidiary of UBS Group focused on wealth management, investment services, and securities brokerage for high‑net‑worth individuals and institutions, without a mass‑market retail offering; following UBS’s European reorganization, local client services are now largely provided by UBS Europe SE, succursale en France, with the French branch operating under host supervision by the ACPR and AMF and home‑country supervision by BaFin. The platform centers on discretionary and advisory portfolio management, execution in equities, bonds, funds, and structured products, Lombard and other collateralized lending, foreign exchange, and custody; UBS Asset Management products are distributed locally, and clients may access group research and selected capital markets solutions subject to product governance and suitability under MiFID II. Pricing is bespoke (management, custody, and transaction fees negotiated by mandate), onboarding is documentation‑heavy with stringent KYC/AML and tax transparency, and minimum relationship sizes are typically high; day‑to‑day retail features such as current accounts, cards, or a branch network are limited or absent. Where services are rendered via UBS Europe SE’s French branch, deposit and investor protection are determined by Germany’s statutory schemes (home‑country coverage), while the former UBS (France) S.A. entity, when active as a French credit institution, fell under France’s FGDR and local investor protections; clients should verify the applicable legal entity on their contracts, booking center, and the corresponding protection regime. UBS and related entities have faced French legal proceedings concerning historical cross‑border client solicitation and tax matters, resulting in significant penalties at first instance and subsequent appeals; these proceedings have prompted heightened controls around cross‑border marketing, tax compliance, and reporting. Operationally, the French business targets advisory‑led relationships supported by digital reporting rather than retail banking functionality; account documentation and reporting for French taxpayers (e.g., IFU) are available, and instruments are typically held in segregated custody in line with EU regulations. Overall, the franchise in France functions as a private‑banking and investment services gateway to UBS’s broader capabilities, but it is oriented to affluent and professional clients, with terms, protections, and booking arrangements dependent on the precise UBS entity serving the relationship.