Just over a year ago, UBS's investment banking chief Carsten Kengeter told investors that the equities business had "the right team in place, the culture of the business is undergoing a strong renaissance, and with the engine now running again we should be able, like my countryman Sebastian Vettel, to pull ahead."

All that was needed, according to Kengeter, who was speaking in November 2010, was to "reinstall the turbocharger."