UBS posts higher profit, signals US$3 billion buyback with upside

Published Wed, Feb 4, 2026 · 02:29 PM

[LONDON] UBS Group posted a profit which beat expectations in the fourth quarter, as the bank announced a US$3 billion buyback programme for 2026 with the potential for more.

The Swiss lender maintained its financial targets for 2028, including a profitability metric of 18 per cent return on CET1 capital. Net income for the quarter was US$1.2 billion, compared with an estimate for US$967 million.

Switzerland’s largest bank faces a pivotal year as it completes the integration of Credit Suisse while campaigning against a potential US$26 billion increase in capital requirements and managing an approaching leadership transition. UBS is continuing its search for a successor to chief executive officer Sergio Ermotti, including external candidates, ahead of his expected departure by early next year.

The bank’s announced buyback plans are on a par with 2025, though it said it has the “aim to do more”, subject to “further clarity around the regulatory regime in Switzerland” and ongoing capital levels. The bank plans to propose a dividend for 2025 of US$1.10 per share.

Client inflows at the key wealth management unit slumped, however, to US$8.5 billion, below the estimate of US$27.4 billion, and pre-tax profit was lower than expected. Traders and dealmakers in the investment bank beat estimates, boosting pre-tax income to US$640 million.

In regulation, UBS is seeking to soften the Swiss government’s plan to impose new rules forcing it to insulate its domestic business from any potential losses abroad.

That lobbying effort has recently gained some support among centre and right-wing politicians, though a draft law being prepared by the government this year will be critical. The Swiss government expects that the bank will ultimately be forced to accept most of its demands, Bloomberg reported last month.

UBS booked US$457 million in additional integration related costs after it bought back US$8.5 billion of debt issued by Credit Suisse.

Sergio Ermotti has said that he plans to step down as CEO by the end of 2026 or early 2027. Chairman Colm Kelleher has floated the idea of Ermotti taking over from him at some point, though this would normally require a cooling-off period. Possible internal candidates to replace Ermotti as CEO include Aleksandar Ivanovic, who leads the Swiss firm’s asset management unit, wealth management co-heads Iqbal Khan and Robert Karofsky, and Chief Operating Officer Beatriz Martin. BLOOMBERG