Deutsche Bank and UBS Expect Writedowns

Updated from 11:10 a.m. EDT

UBS(UBS Quote) and Deutsche Bank(DB Quote) both marked the first day of the new quarter by saying they expect more bad news in the old one.

The two foreign banks said they expect significant writedowns due to the continuing deteriorating market conditions due to the collapsing values of mortgage-related securities and other debt. UBS said it would write down $19 billion, while Deutsche Bank said it would write down $4 billion.

UBS said it expected a loss of 12 billion Swiss francs for the quarter. The bank said it would raise 15 billion Swiss francs and announced Chairman Marcel Ospel would not seek reelection at the bank's April 23 annual meeting. General Counsel Peter Kurer is set to take his place.

Market Turns Deaf Ear to UBS Writedown

The Swiss bank has been one of the hardest hit among its Wall Street brethren in the credit crunch that has enveloped markets since last summer. UBS has written down $40 billion over the past nine months, surpassing even the staggering totals of rivals Citigroup(C Quote) and Merrill Lynch(MER Quote).

UBS over the first quarter reduced its exposure to positions tied to U.S. residential subprime mortgages to about $15 billion from $27.6 billion on Dec. 31 through asset disposals and writedowns. It narrowed its exposure to Alt-A positions to about $16 billion from $26.6 billion. Other risk positions were also reduced, the bank said. First-quarter results are due May 6.

Shares were jumping 11% to $31.96 in recent Tuesday morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Germany-based Deutsche Bank pinned its losses on leveraged loans and loan commitments, commercial real estate and residential mortgage-backed securities, primarily Alt-A loans. It reported no mortgage-related writedowns in the fourth quarter.

Despite the hit it expects to take in the first quarter, the bank said its capital position remains secure. Shares were up 3.1% to $116.53 in recent premarket trading on the NYSE.

Know What You Own: DB operates in the financial services industry, and some of the other stocks in its field include Goldman Sachs(GS Quote), Morgan Stanley(MS Quote) and Lehman Brothers(LEH Quote). These stocks were recently trading at ($173.79, +5.08%), ($47.79, +4.57%) and ($43.31, +15.06%) respectively. For more on the value of knowing what you own, visit TheStreet.com's Investing A-to-Z section.