EXCLUSIVE: Former UBS Exec Launching Fund

"I'm not surprised to see Brian coming back," says the private equity source. "Brian is a very smart guy. He made a lot of money. Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if he just went to the beach either."

It is not clear how many funds Ladder Capital is targeting to raise, but the firm appears to be in the advanced stages of a launch since it is currently searching for a chief financial officer, another industry source says.

Harris previously ran the global commercial real estate lending group at UBS prior to switching to the Dillon Read division. Before UBS, he was a senior executive in the commercial real estate finance group at Credit Suisse.

Harris could not be reached for comment. A UBS spokesperson confirmed that he left the firm last year.

UBS, meanwhile, continues to report some of the largest losses related to subprime loans of any investment bank. On Tuesday, the Zurich-based bank reported a $331 million loss and recorded $5.1 billion in fresh writedowns of loans held on its balance sheet.

Fellow financial giant JPMorgan Chase (JPM Quote) spooked investors late Monday when it said in a regulatory filing that it expects to write off $1.5 billion in mortgage-backed securities in the third quarter, due to the continued deterioration in the credit markets.

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