"Two years after the start of the financial crisis, financial institutions continue to face unprecedented challenges, which have led to a high volume of transactions, from capital raising to restructuring to M&A," said Howe. "The addition of Michael to lead our insurance effort in North America will strengthen our coverage of this important sector."

Ostow, 41, will join UBS from Morgan Stanley, where he was most recently Co-Head of the North American Insurance Group within its FIG practice. Previously, he was a Managing Director in the FIG practice at Credit Suisse, where he had coverage responsibilities for insurance companies. Early in his career, Ostow was an associate in the FIG practice at UBS in New York.

"The insurance sector is currently undergoing enormous change, and we are seeing a significant pipeline of insurance-related transactions," said Benett. "Michael brings enormous experience in insurance and every type of transaction, and I am confident he will add significantly to our ability to provide our clients with superior advice and execution."

Ostow holds a BS from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

The UBS Financial Institutions Group is comprised of leading practice areas in banks, asset management, financial technology and exchanges, specialty finance, and insurance. UBS's global FIG practice has worked on numerous high-profile transactions in capital markets and M&A advisory over the past 12 months, including roles as lead financial advisor to PartnerRe on its $2 billion acquisition of PARIS RE; bookrunner on Wells Fargo's $12.6 billion follow-on equity offering; financial advisor to AerCap Holdings on its $1.75 billion acquisition of Genesis Lease Ltd.; advisor to Sumitomo Trust on its $1.2 billion acquisition of Nikko Asset Management; and lead financing provider to CME Group for the $1.6 billion cash portion of its acquisition of NYMEX.

Headquartered in Zurich and Basel, Switzerland, UBS is one of the world's leading financial firms. It serves a discerning, international client base with its wealth management, investment banking and asset management businesses. In Switzerland, UBS is the market leader in retail and commercial banking.

UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in over 50 countries, with about 38% of its employees working in the Americas, 34% in Switzerland, 15% in the rest of Europe and 13% in Asia Pacific. UBS employs more than 75,000 people around the world. Its shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE).

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