Net income for the three months to March came in at $1.7 billion, beating estimates, aided by a 32% revenue surge from trading that was driven by equities and foreign exchange.
The uncertainty brought about by the Trump administration has prompted investors to shift their portfolios, handing the trading desks of global banks a surge in business. UBS, however, warned that spiking concerns over trade policy could cause businesses to put off investment and would hurt fees from dealmaking.
“It’s going to depend on the developments on the tariff front,” UBS Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Tom Mackenzie on Wednesday. “Uncertainty also has a cost, and therefore investors and corporates will probably slow down their investment plans.”
At the investment bank, higher revenue at the trading unit was partly offset by weaker performance in dealmaking and advisory. Ermotti said in March that the market for services like M&A advisory and capital raising had practically seized up due to uncertainty over economic policy.
Deutsche Bank AG’s debt trading unit posted a record first quarter on the back of volatility, while Societe Generale SA saw a surge in equities trading in the period.
UBS’s wealth management division posted a pre-tax profit of $1.4 billion, roughly in line with estimates, aided by higher fees and transaction income.
The bank confirmed its existing plans for dividends and buybacks. In February, it said it aims to buy back up to $3 billion of its own shares this year, one-third of that in the first half of the year and the remaining $2 billion in the second. Buybacks remain subject to keeping the main capital ratio around its current level of 14% and the absence of “material and immediate” changes to the Swiss regulatory regime.
UBS is facing a long period of uncertainty with regard to its future capital levels, as the Swiss parliament will this year begin to discuss legislation that may require it to hold an extra $25 billion in capital. Given the likely length of the political process, a resolution isn’t likely before 2028.
“It’s very important that whatever decision is taken, it’s taken based on facts, not about myth or about any other ideological issues,” Ermotti said. “The consequences of the changes are much more profound for the competitiveness, not only of UBS, but the Swiss financial center.”
Progress in integrating Credit Suisse, which UBS bought in an emergency rescue in 2023, continued in the quarter. The bank said it had now completed merging the branch network in Switzerland and was preparing to migrate domestic clients onto its systems in the second quarter.
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(Edited by : Juviraj Anchil)