The 20-minute delay at this morning's UBS extraordinary general meeting in Basel was uncharacteristically un-Swiss. But it was not a regular day for the Swiss banking industry, as one of its main players was held in the dock before shareholders.

Shareholders gathered to vote on whether to proceed with a special audit of the group, a proposal made by Swiss corporate governance foundation, Ethos, following the payment of a stock dividend instead of cash for 2007, and the capital increase through mandatory convertible notes issued to Singapore's Government Investment Corporation and an undisclosed Middle East investor.