ZURICH (AFP) – Swiss banking giant UBS reported better-than-expected earnings yesterday as the integration of Credit Suisse led to lower costs.
The group reported a net profit of more than USD1.1 billion for the quarter from April to June, well above the median analyst forecast of USD608 million.
The results are not comparable to the USD29 billion the bank earned in the same quarter last year thanks to a one-time accounting gain when UBS was strong-armed into buying its rival Credit Suisse.
In the second quarter of this year, revenue fell seven per cent to USD11.1 billion, pulled down by lower interest income which was only partly compensated by higher revenue from capital markets and investment banking.
UBS said it made a further USD900 million of cost cuts from absorbing Credit Suisse, compared with USD1 billion in the first quarter, bringing total savings to USD6 billion. The bank is targeting USD7 billion of cost savings by the end of 2024, just over half of the USD13-billion objective it set for the end of 2026.
“Our first-half results reflect the significant progress we have made since the closing of the acquisition as we deliver on all of our commitments to stakeholders,” Director General Sergio Ermotti said in a press release. “We are well positioned to meet our financial targets and return to the levels of profitability we delivered before being asked to step in and stabilise Credit Suisse.”
Swiss authorities pressured UBS into buying Credit Suisse in March 2023 to prevent a massive bank failure.
The emergency fusion was completed in June 2023 and led to a massive accounting gain due to the gap between the assets held by Credit Suisse and the CHF3 billion (now USD3.5 billion) price tag for the acquisition.
