UBS is making some of its US retail-brokerage branch managers establish and manage their own books of business. Though seen as a move to increase productivity by a full-service brokerage with a reputation for having the thinnest margins in the business, some see the innovation causing unseemly competition at branches and other challenges.

The change, made public early in August and set to take effect in the fourth quarter, stems from UBS's renovation of its US regional structure this past spring.

Instead of eight regions, UBS has three - with 18 market areas that encompass 64 complexes, 19 standalone branches, and offices of its up-market Private Wealth Management unit.

It's the 100 or so managers of "associate" branches that are part of the complexes that have to start managing books this autumn. For managers of the standalone branches and for managers of the complexes, it is business as usual - except to the extent that complex managers have to provide approvals for business conducted by the branch managers that report to them.

These changes have been made in the name of "streamlining our business and driving more decision-making deeper in the organization and closer to the client," a UBS spokeswoman told Dow Jones recently. "Creating organizational structures and relationships between branches to form complexes provides us with the best opportunity to support this focus."