Zurich, Oct 26 (AFP/APP):Switzerland’s largest bank UBS said Tuesday its third quarter profits rose nine percent to $2.3 billion, buoyed by its wealth management division and fees from investment banking.
The bank’s operating income, the equivalent of revenue, rose by two percent to $9.1 billion, beating the $8.5 billion forecasted by Swiss agency AWP.
It was the latest in a wave of global banks reporting rising profits after being buffeted by the Covid-19 pandemic, after positive results announced by HSBC, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase.
UBS CEO Ralph Hamers said in a statement that “the market and economic backdrop were broadly positive in the third quarter, although there has been some uncertainty recently”.
The Swiss lender’s pre-tax profits climbed in all divisions, leaping 43 percent in its traditional pillar of wealth management to $1.5 billion “primarily driven by higher average fee-generating assets, reflecting positive market performance”.
In all, pre-tax profits rose 32 percent year-on-year to $837 million.
“Our business momentum, our focus on fuelling growth, on disciplined execution and on delivering our full ecosystem to clients — all of this led to another strong quarter,” said Hamers, who took over in November last year.
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