UBS Group AG profit for the final quarter of 2024 beat expectations, aiding the Swiss bank in boosting buyback plans for this year to US$3 billion ($4.08 billion).
Net income for the three months to December came in at US$770 million, compared with a forecast for US$486 million. Pre-tax profit at the investment bank came well ahead of estimates, at US$479 million, while net new assets in the wealth-management unit missed expectations.
UBS said that it plans to buy back US$1 billion worth of its own shares in the first half of this year, and an additional US$2 billion in the second. That’s an increase over 2024 and in line with expectations, though the plans are subject to reforms of Swiss bank regulation currently being drafted.
The global wealth manager is reaching for bigger returns to shareholders, given that the integration of its former rival Credit Suisse, which it bought in 2023, is so far proceeding smoothly. Yet a substantial increase in capital requirements by the Swiss government looms, with UBS Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti warning against an “overreaction” that would hurt competitiveness.
In the outlook, UBS said that investors had shown greater risk appetite following the results of the US presidential election at the end of 2024, and that “constructive” market conditions continued into the first quarter of this year. The bank warned that increased uncertainty around global trade, inflation and central bank policy could result in spikes of volatility ahead.
Last month UBS kicked off a round of job cuts in its home market Switzerland, with hundreds of employees receiving notice in recent weeks.
