UBS Financial Services has received a $27 million tax break from the New Jersey government to prevent the Swiss bank from moving its office and 2,000 staff out of the state, North Jersey writes.

The bank had previously said it was planning to move its employees out of Weehawken and Jersey City into Tennessee, Connecticut, and New York City. To halt the move, the state Economic Development Authority awarded a six-year grant worth $4.5 million per year under the Business Retention and Relocation Assistance Grant. Under the said program, up to $2,250 in business tax credits are awarded for every job retained in the state by a company thinking of leaving. Recipients must then commit to stay for five years beyond the grant term.

In order to get the grant, UBS needs to repay a little over $6 million for two grants awarded in 2002 that required the firm to stay in New Jersey for 15 years. This includes $4.8 million given under the Business Employment Incentive Program, which mandated the firm to create 1,450 new jobs. UBS was able to create 1,641. If UBS agrees to the grant offer, it will need to spend around $58 million to renovate its existing office spaces in the state.  

The move to retain UBS facilities and staff in New Jersey follows an earlier EDA mandate to approve state assistance for UBS in the wake of a bid-rigging scandal that led to the bank paying $160 million to the US Department of Justice to settle legal claims. The EDA has reportedly made sure that the problem related to the issue has already been settled and that none of the UBS employees linked with the scandal are still employed with the firm.