PaineWebber to open shop in Salt Lake high-rise

UBS PaineWebber is jumping into Utah's banking market, with a new industrial loan corporation located at the Wells Fargo Center in Salt Lake City.

Paul Marrone, UBS PaineWebber spokesman, confirmed the New York City-based firm has leased just over 5,300 square feet on the 22nd floor of the 24-floor building. The lease was arranged during the latter part of last year, Marrone said, and the firm is awaiting regulatory approval to set up shop. Its application is still pending with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Pending all necessary regulatory approvals, UBS PaineWebber plans to establish a banking presence, in addition to its three branch offices in Utah. Its Salt Lake branch is located a stone's throw from the Wells Fargo Center, at 170 S. Main.

"The Salt Lake City branch is one of more than 360 local branch offices that UBS PaineWebber has to serve individual investors," Marrone said. "The lease for space in the Wells Fargo building will support a separate banking initiative in Utah."

The industrial loan corporation will focus on supporting the firm's individual wealth management business, Marrone said, as well as meeting an increasing demand for collateralized lending, such as loans against client assets.

Specific plans, including staffing and move-in dates, will be released later, Marrone said.

Word of the UBS PaineWebber lease follows closely on the heels of another big announcement, the planned move by KUTV Channel 2 from its West Valley City facility to a possible ground floor lease at the Wells Fargo building. With the UBS PaineWebber lease, KUTV and others that are pending, the Wells Fargo Center is nearly 75 percent full, according to Glenn McKay, Wasatch Property Management marketing vice president.

"We may be in a tough market, but this building — in my opinion, it's the nicest building in town — means that if there's a quality deal out there, I get a chance to see it," McKay said. "There are a lot of issues with taking a building from a single-user building to a multiuser building. People wondered whether we could do it. We've made it happen, and we understand how to make it work."

McKay admits that it costs a little more to lease space in the Wells Fargo Center but said he's always open to new ideas.

"We're not the cheapest building on the block," he said. "Still, we have been competitive on deals that we feel will make an impact on the building. We'll get down and dirty when we have to."

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