Investment bank UBS has launched an investigation after a disc reckoned to contain sensitive client data went missing. The lost drive held data from the bank's Tokyo share trading division raising fears that confidential trading histories from the bank's corporate clients might be disclosed, The Times reports. Japanese regulators told the paper they took the leak "extremely seriously". Japan's Financial Services Agency was told about the missing disc last week and though it’s unclear when the disc went missing, theories abound.

The disc went missing during the course of a software upgrade between the bank's Tokyo and Hong Kong offices. Although earmarked for destruction the disc remains unaccounted for. "Although the metal case that once contained the disk is understood to have been retrieved, the storage machinery inside was gone. It is not known whether the disk has fallen into the hands of anyone outside the bank," The Times reports.

Client data would normally be saved onto corporate servers rather than desktops but UBS is refusing to take any chances. The bank said it has launched a probe into the disc's disappearance. ®

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