UBS shareholder Rudolf Weber, who produced a string of sausages at UBS' annual general meeting one year ago, this time arrived armed with a mysterious red book. There were calls for calm, trust, peace and quiet by the bank's management, but Weber appeared to have left those qualities at the door.

One of the first of at least 50 shareholders who had signed up in advance to speak during the meeting, Weber explained: "I have come along with a red book. It is not the Bible, but Grimms' fables. My mother used to read them to me when I was young, and she said they wrote the best fairy tales.