The state of Connecticut has cut a new deal with banking giant UBS, which it hopes will keep the company in Stamford for another seven years.
UBS has been a major employer in Stamford since 1997, although the number of workers in the city has declined from a high of 4,000 to about half that.
The company caused consternation last week, when it was revealed that it had put its huge downtown complex up for lease. Governor Dannel Malloy was among the people who speculated that UBS might not fulfill a previous agreement with the state to keep at least 2,000 employees in Stamford through 2016. If employment fell below that level, the bank would have been liable to pay back a $20 million state loan, with interest.
Now the state has unveiled a renegotiated agreement with the bank. Under the deal, a portion of the loan becomes forgivable each year from now until 2021, depending on the number of jobs UBS retains in Connecticut. Malloy says the extended agreement clears up any doubt about the company’s intentions in Connecticut, and reaffirms the state’s reputation as a leader in financial services.
At the same time, the change in terms does not commit the bank to retaining employment, it just calibrates how much of the loan must be paid back each year, if certain targets aren’t met.
