numeri ubs
molto buoni gli inflow che hanno avuti nel private bank
May 2 (Bloomberg) -- UBS AG, Switzerland's biggest bank, said first-quarter profit fell 54 percent after a charge related to the company's own debt led to a loss at the investment bank.
Net income declined to 827 million Swiss francs ($910 million) from 1.81 billion francs in the year-earlier period, the Zurich-based bank said in a statement today. That compares with the 810.9 million-franc average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti is shrinking UBS's investment bank by almost half as stricter capital requirements and Europe's sovereign-debt crisis hurt profits. Ermotti, 51, and Chairman Kaspar Villiger, 71, who in March described 2012 as "a year of transition" for the securities unit, said in a letter to shareholders that questions over the economic and market outlook may create further headwinds for revenue growth.
"The key question is can they mitigate the decline in revenue that is inevitable as a result of deleveraging," Christopher Wheeler, a London-based analyst at Mediobanca SpA, said before today's release. He has an "underperform" rating on UBS.
UBS has risen 1.3 percent in Zurich trading this year, trailing the 4.4 percent gain in the 43-company Bloomberg Europe Banks and Financial Services Index. Credit Suisse Group AG, its biggest Swiss competitor, has fallen 1.6 percent.
Accounting Charge
Earnings in the quarter were burdened by a 1.16 billion- franc charge related to the bank's own debt. The accounting charge stems from a rule tied to the theoretical cost of buying back the bank's debt as market prices fluctuate. The investment bank posted a pretax loss of 373 million francs compared with a profit of 833 million francs a year earlier after the charge. Excluding the charge, the unit had a profit of 730 million francs before tax.
Wealth management profit rose 24 percent to 803 million francs, helped by a reduction in expenses related to changes in the company's Swiss pension plan, while wealth management Americas increased earnings 71 percent to 190 million francs. The two units added 10.9 billion francs in net new money in the quarter.
UBS said in November it intends to cut risk-weighted assets at the investment bank by 145 billion francs from 300 billion francs by 2016, under Basel III rules. Risk-weighted assets at the investment bank were cut by about 21 billion francs in the first quarter.
Investment Bank
The company said in March that Andrea Orcel, a top Bank of America Corp. dealmaker, will join in July to run the investment bank with 45-year-old Carsten Kengeter. Orcel, 48, who joined Merrill Lynch & Co. in 1992, was among the biggest dealmakers when the firm was independent, and was named chairman of global banking and markets after Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America acquired Merrill Lynch in September 2008.
The Italian banker, who got a reported $33.8 million in compensation for 2008, will be joining other former Merrill Lynch employees at UBS, including Ermotti, Robert McCann, 54, who heads business in the Americas, and Mike Stewart, 43, who heads the global equities business at the investment bank.
UBS was shaken by the discovery of a $2.3 billion loss from unauthorized trading in September, which resulted in the departure of CEO Oswald Gruebel, 68. Villiger plans to step down at the bank's annual shareholder meeting tomorrow after former Bundesbank President Axel Weber, 55, is elected to the board of directors.
Credit Suisse last week reported that its securities unit benefited less from the rebound in debt markets in the first quarter than U.S. competitors as the Zurich-based company accelerated the reduction of risk-weighted assets. Net income fell to 44 million francs from 1.14 billion francs in the year- earlier period after accounting charges related to Credit Suisse's own debt and costs for 2011 bonuses.