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From the Opalesque team: Swiss newspaper Le Temps reported today that the Madoff affair could cost between $10bln and $15bln to banks and investment managers in Geneva.

In a separate article, Le Temps reports that one of Madoff’s main funds, Thema, was sold in Switzerland and was authorised by the Swiss Federal Banking Commission. The regulator is expected to investigate and explain. The article further criticises the way due diligence is conducted in Geneva.

It was reported by the press today that Swiss private bank Reichmuth had said its exposure to Madoff amounted to about $325m (about 3.5% of the bank’s AUM, which is around CHF 11bln). Bloomberg.com also reported that Zurich-based private bank Neue Privat Bank AG had a $5m exposure to Mardoff.

Geneva-head quartered Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) confirmed this morning in a communication to investors, that the exposure of its clients to Madoff represents less than 1% of the total AUM of the bank, which itself had no own-account investments in the Madoff group. UBP commented: “the bank’s financial robustness is of the highest order: not only does the bank have a Tier 1 ratio of 16% in terms of shareholder equity, which is twice the minimum legal requirement of 8%, but it has also had a constant balance-sheet structure over several years and no investments at risk.”

As at end-June 2008, UBP’s AUM was CHF126.7bln ($106.7bln), of which CHF58bln ($48.8bln) invested in hedge funds (see exclus......................

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