Swiss bank UBS reported its best quarter since 2015 in the three months to September, as thriving market conditions for its super-rich customers led to surging fees and profits at its wealth management business.
Net profit rose 9% to nearly US$2.3bn in the third quarter, beating analysts’ forecasts of a fall to around US$1.6bn.
The bank’s earnings release revealed a 43% increase in profits at the global wealth management division to US$1.5bn. Recurring net fee income increased by 23% in the period, driven by higher average fee-generating assets, which reflected a positive market performance and net new fee-generating assets, UBS said.
The division saw net interest income increase by 15% on higher loan revenues from higher volumes and margins, as well as higher deposit revenues.
Invested assets at the end of September stood at almost US$3.2trn, down 1% from the end of June. New fee-generating assets totalled US$18.8bn, supported by inflows in most regions.
Commenting on the results. UBS chief executive Ralph Hamers said: “Our business momentum, our focus on fueling growth, on disciplined execution and on delivering our full ecosystem to clients – all of this led to another strong quarter financially across all of our business divisions and regions.”
Hamers revealed that UBS will present a strategic update on 1 February 2022, which is expected to involve moves into digital and hybrid banking.