Strong quarter for wealth management helps UBS return to profitability

A year on from its emergency rescue of rival Credit Suisse, Swiss banking giant UBS AG is back to being profitable, with first-quarter results surprising on the upside, according to Morningstar DBRS.

In a new report, the rating agency said UBS recorded pre-tax profits of $2.4 billion (all figures are in U.S. dollars), and net earnings of $1.8 billion in the first quarter, following a series of quarterly losses.

The bank’s rebound came thanks to strong results in global wealth management, investment banking and its core domestic banking (personal and commercial) operations, DBRS noted. The non-core parts of the business generated only moderate losses, it said.

“UBS reported better than expected [first-quarter] results in all its operating divisions as well as good progress in its integration/restructuring plans,” said Vitaline Yeterian, senior vice-president, European financial institutions ratings with Morningstar DBRS, in a release.

Overall, revenues were up 15% quarter over quarter, and operating expenses were down by 5% from the previous quarter, DBRS said.

Wealth management was the bank’s strongest segment, supplying 43% of pre-tax profits.

The division’s profits more than doubled in the first quarter, “mainly thanks to transaction-based income, but also growth in net interest income and recurring net fee income,” DBRS said. It noted that the Credit Suisse platform was also a positive contributor in the quarter.

Net new assets increased by $27.4 billion, and invested assets were up 3% in the quarter to $4.0 trillion, DBRS said.

Additionally, the bank is actively reducing risk-weighted assets in its non-core division, with assets declining by $16 billion in the quarter, “driven by active reduction in securitized products and credit portfolios,” it said. The bank remains on track to reduce the non-core legacy division to 5% of its total risk-weighted assets by the end of 2026.

The bank’s capital position also strengthened in Q1, with its common equity tier 1 ratio rising by 40 basis points to 14.8% by the end of the quarter — a move driven by the reduction in risk assets.