UBS, Switzerland’s biggest bank, has hired The Wall Street Journal Asia’s associate editor and Hong Kong chief to oversee its relationship with the government.

UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank by assets, has hired the former associate editor and Hong Kong chief of The Wall Street Journal Asia to oversee its relationship with the government. 

Peter Stein joined UBS as head of group governmental affairs, Asia-Pacific, on 3 January. He is based in Hong Kong and reports to the APAC group co-chief executives and the head of group governmental affairs, in the newly-created role. 

The firm said in an internal memo seen by WealthBriefingAsia: “In light of the increasing importance of the APAC region for the UBS Group, it is essential that we maintain a deep understanding of the regulatory, political and economic trends in the region both to protect the firm's interests and to ensure the coordinated management of our interaction with senior public officials.”

The memo was signed off by Chi-Won Yoon and Alex Wilmot-Sitwell, the co-chairs and co-CEOs of UBS’ Asia-Pacific business.

From 2005, Stein was Hong Kong bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal and associate editor of its Asian edition, leading a team of journalists who covered finance, markets and Asia-wide economic and corporate trends. Before that, he spent seven years as managing editor of The Wall Street Journal Asia, where he first began working in 1989. The WSJ and its subsidiaries is owned by US publisher Dow Jones, a News Corporation company. 

It is unusual for a bank to appoint a journalist in such a high role with no previous experience of banking. The Zurich-based firm said that Stein has “extensive knowledge of the business environment and financial markets in the region, and a deep understanding of the regional economic and political landscape.”