UBS shares surge as rich clients get busy

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3 年前

Shares in Swiss bank UBS surged as much as 7% Tuesday (February 1) morning.

That after the country's biggest lender reported its best annual earnings since the global financial crisis.

Net profit for 2021 jumped 14% to $7.5 billion.

The bank put that down to dealmaking, and robust trading activity by its ultra-wealthy clients.

The numbers beat forecasts and marked its best year since 2006.

UBS says it now plans to hike dividends and do a $5 billion share buyback.

The bank also set out its first major strategic review since CEO Ralph Hamers took the helm in November 2020.

It aims to bring costs down, and use technology to reach more customers.

UBS wants to expand beyond its core customer base of billionaires and multi-millionaires.

Last week it agreed to buy U.S. digital wealth management firm Wealthfront as part of moves to target younger, tech-savvy investors.