UBS: net profit up 8% in third quarter to nearly USD 2.7 billion

Swiss banking giant UBS on Wednesday published net profit up 8% in the third quarter, to nearly $2.7 billion (€2.4 billion), driven by its wealth management activities. Its operating income, the equivalent of its turnover, increased by 5% to 13.3 billion dollars, the bank said in a press release. Analysts surveyed by the Swiss agency AWP expected on average $2.76 billion in profit and $13.17 billion in turnover.

Its wealth management division saw its revenues climb 7% to $7 billion, while those of the investment bank, its other main pillar, fell slightly, falling by 5 million, to $3.2 billion. » READ ALSO - A foreign takeover of UBS becomes plausible A cost reduction objective The bank, which had bought Credit Suisse in 2023 under pressure from the Swiss authorities in order to avoid a bankruptcy of its former competitor, raised its cost reduction objective for the end of 2026 to 13.7 billion dollars, against 13.5 billion dollars previously targeted. “At the start of the fourth quarter, investor sentiment is cautious, against a backdrop of marked macroeconomic volatility, persistent geopolitical tensions and political uncertainties linked to the elections, particularly in the United States,” notes the bank in the press release.

The bank, however, estimates that it should “have reached” or “be close to” its target of 14% that it has set for the hard capital ratio at the end of 2026, including with potential provisions for share buybacks next year. “The political process relating to Switzerland's future regulatory requirements continues and we want to continue to make a constructive contribution in the hope that Parliament will arrive at a solution which ensures the financial stability of the country without imposing an excessive cost” and “without affecting the competitiveness of the group in the long term”, adds the bank.

Machine-translated from French