Finance
UBS wealth outflows in US take shine off profit jump
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 4, 2026
3 min readLast updated: February 4, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 4, 2026
3 min readLast updated: February 4, 2026
UBS posted a Q4 profit of $1.2 billion, exceeding expectations, and announced a $3 billion share buyback plan for 2026, subject to regulatory changes.
By Ariane Luthi
ZURICH, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Switzerland's UBS reported outflows from its U.S. wealth management business on Wednesday and warned there were more to come after losing some relationship managers, hitting its shares despite beating quarterly profit forecasts.
The stock slid more than 4%, compared with a broadly flat European banking index.
The bank added $8.5 billion in net new assets to its global wealth management division during the fourth quarter. Flows in Asia, Europe and the Middle East were strong, it said, but U.S. business continued to lag as adviser departures led to outflows.
"We're certainly not satisfied with the net movement we've seen around our advisers," Chief Financial Officer Todd Tuckner told analysts, referring to the U.S. and forecasting more challenges in attracting net new money in the first half of this year.
UBS expects U.S. flows to turn positive in 2026 overall, with growing contributions in 2027 and 2028, Tuckner said.
ADDITIONAL BUYBACKS DEPEND ON CAPITAL RULES
UBS intends to repurchase at least $3 billion of shares in 2026 and aims "to do more," it said. Any additional buybacks would depend on greater clarity over Switzerland's future banking regulatory regime.
Swiss authorities have proposed stricter capital rules for the country's remaining big bank after it bought ailing Credit Suisse in 2023 in a state-engineered emergency takeover.
The shape of the final regulations remains unclear, but UBS shares have risen by roughly a fifth since early December after lawmakers floated a compromise and Reuters reported government preparations to soften some of the rules.
UBS revived its ambition to achieve a reported return on Common Equity Tier 1 capital of around 18% by 2028, a goal it had dropped after the Swiss government proposed new capital rules in June.
It is reasonable to expect a phase-in period for the capital rules, Tuckner said, though modalities would need to be confirmed by the government.
JOB CUTS EXPECTED IN SECOND HALF OF 2026
UBS is also aiming for a group cost-income ratio of around 67% by 2028, a more ambitious target than its current one of below 70%.
Fourth-quarter net profit jumped 56% to $1.2 billion, ahead of a company-provided consensus forecast of $919 million. Underlying total revenue rose 10% to $12.2 billion.
The bank said it had made "excellent integration progress" with Credit Suisse, with around 85% of Swiss-booked accounts now migrated onto UBS systems.
"I am confident in our ability to capture the remaining synergies by the end of the year," Ermotti said in a statement, adding that the bank had increased its cost-saving programme by $500 million to $13.5 billion.
Expected job cuts will start in the first part of the year but are likely to hit harder in the second half, Ermotti said, declining to give numbers.
(Reporting by Ariane Luthi. Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Edwina Gibbs and Mark Potter)
Net profit is the amount of money a company earns after all expenses, taxes, and costs have been deducted from total revenue. It reflects the company's profitability.
A share buyback is when a company purchases its own shares from the marketplace, reducing the number of outstanding shares. This can increase the value of remaining shares.
CET1 capital is a measure of a bank's financial strength, representing the core equity capital that is available to absorb losses.
The cost-income ratio is a financial metric that compares a company's operating costs to its operating income, indicating efficiency and profitability.
Net new assets refer to the total amount of new investments received by a financial institution, minus any withdrawals, over a specific period.
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