Swiss Private Banks: Which Ones Thrived, Which Ones Faltered?
6. UBS
Targeting $100 billion in net new money in Private Wealth Management, UBS narrowly missed the mark by achieving $96.7 billion, according to the Q4 2024 report published on February 4.
Also disappointing were the outflows in the Asian PWM segment – a market where other Swiss banks such as EFG and Vontobel are thriving.
Subsequently, the stock exchanges showed their harsh side: the share price dropped by nearly 10 percent, though it has since recovered half of that loss.
As the only remaining Swiss major bank aspiring to compete globally with institutions like J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas and HSBC, UBS stands as the giant among Swiss private banks.
However, its 2024 annual profit of $5.1 billion appears somewhat lackluster compared to international peers. Even Deutsche Bank – a long-standing market worry – achieved a similar performance last year.
The key challenge in PWM lies in reducing costs following the merger with Credit Suisse. With a 79.5 percent cost/income ratio, UBS’s private banking is the second most expensive among the banks compared.
