By Ariane Luthi
ZURICH (Reuters) – UBS Group, Switzerland’s largest bank, on Tuesday posted net income of $770 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, trouncing forecasts.
The net profit attributable to shareholders compared with an average estimate of $483 million in a company-provided poll of analysts.
The lender also announced a share buyback program of up to $3 billion for this year, higher than the $2.2 billion analysts at Vontobel expected.
UBS said it planned to repurchase $1 billion of shares in the first half of 2025 and up to $2 billion in the second half while maintaining its target common equity tier 1 capital (CET1) ratio of around 14%.
The bank also specified that the share repurchase amounts were subject to “the absence of material and immediate changes to the current capital regime in Switzerland.”
The results mark the fourth consecutive quarter of profit as UBS integrates Credit Suisse after acquiring its former rival in 2023.
Total revenues climbed 7% to $11.6 billion year-on-year, narrowly beating the company-provided consensus forecast of $11.5 billion.
Net new assets attracted in global wealth management during the quarter amounted to $18 billion, missing the $21 billion Zuercher Kantonalbank analysts had forecast.
UBS is awaiting more clarity on plans to draw up stricter banking regulations in Switzerland following the collapse of Credit Suisse, which unravelled after a series of scandals.
At the centre of the overhaul are plans to make UBS hold more capital to prevent a repeat of the Credit Suisse meltdown, but they have yet to make clear how much that will be.
UBS says existing capital requirements are appropriate, and has warned the Swiss government that excessive demands could make the country’s financial sector less competitive.
Investors have warmed to the Credit Suisse takeover, with UBS’s shares rising by more than 80% since then.
UBS Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti said last week that the migrating of Credit Suisse clients to its IT system was going well, but that it would remain a major focal point for the next 12 months.
(Reporting by Ariane Luthi; Editing by Dave Graham and Edwina Gibbs)
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