UBS AG, which ran into a Washington buzz saw for having allegedly aided and abetted wealthy American clients evade taxes, has appointed 2 prominent politicos to major roles in UBS Wealth Management  Mona Sutphen, formerly President Obama’s deputy chief of staff, will lead macro analysis;  Alexander Friedman, a Defense Department official in the Clinton administration and the CFO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will be the division’s CIO, a newly created position at UBS.  The bank also hired Mark Haefele, a Boston hedge fund manager, to lead investment analysis.

    Ms. Sutphen's CV.   Before joining the Obama presidential campaign in 2008, Ms. Sutphen was an MD at Stonebridge International, a business strategy firm founded by a former U.S. national security adviser, Sandy Berger.  Ms. Sutphen knew Mr. Berger from the Clinton administration, where she worked for him on the staff of the National Security Council.  In the Obama administration, Ms. Sutphen advised the president on domestic policy and international issues.  She also is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

    Mr. Friedman's CV.   Before joining the Gates Foundation, Mr. Friedman was an investment banker at Lazard.  After leaving the foundation in 2010, he managed Asymmetry, a private investment vehicle.  He also was a White House fellow and an assistant to the secretary of Defense for special projects in the Clinton administration.

    Repairing It's Collateral Damage.   UBS can't move quickly enough to repair its ties to Washington.  After facing a Justice Department investigation and fierce criticism from lawmakers, the bank agreed to turn over more than 50,000 customer names and pay $780 million to the U.S. government.  UBS also served an 18-month probation for selling offshore tax evasion services.  The Justice Department dropped criminal charges against the bank last year.   [NYTimes, 2/28]