UBS pre-tax profits jump 27% in third quarter to $3.59 billion as wealth inflows surge

UBS reported a pre-tax profit of almost $3.6 billion in the third quarter, up 27% year over year, largely in line with consensus forecasts.

The Swiss banking and asset management giant saw strong net inflows into its global wealth management business.

Net profit was $2.7 billion for the third quarter, in line with estimates.

The Zurich-headquartered lender's common equity tier (CET) 1 capital ratio — a measure of a bank's solvency — reached 14.7% during the period, up from 14.4% the previous quarter.

Strong inflows into its global wealth management business supported performance, with net new assets reaching $55.1 billion by the end of the quarter. UBS recorded $12.5 billion in client commitments across its wealth management and asset management businesses.

In its third-quarter earnings statement Wednesday, the bank said the integration of Credit Suisse is "firmly on track" to be completed by year-end, delivering a total of $13.7 billion in cumulative cost savings, above earlier expectations of $13.5 billion.

UBS remains locked in an ongoing wrangle with the Swiss government over proposals for increased capital buffers, aimed at insulating taxpayers from any future banking crisis and contagion from the bank's foreign subsidiaries following the Credit Suisse debacle.

The bank is seen as systemically important to the Swiss economy. The country's upper house of parliament voted last month to require UBS to hold 90% of Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital, or about $16 billion in extra shares, as collateral to support its foreign subsidiaries. The level currently stands at around 45%. UBS wants it to be no more than 50%.

Speaking with CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" Wednesday, Ermotti said the bank's clients expect it to be competitive. "90% would not, long-term, allow us to be a competitive player," Ermotti told CNBC's Carolin Roth. "I'm very concerned about this development."

In an earlier statement, Ermotti said UBS' strong third-quarter performance underlines the benefits of its diversified global business model, adding that the lender remains "strategically committed to its diversified business model and its global and regional footprint."