The bank suffered a dip in profits at the end of 2016, but in its latest trading update for the first quarter it said wealth management and investment banking growth helped push profits before tax to CHF1.9bn (£1.5bn) between January and March.
The global wealth management business reported profits of CHF1.1bn (£858m) in the first quarter, signalling a 19% increase in year-on-year profit with invested assets up 13% to a record of CHF2.2tn (£1.7tn).
Investment banking at the firm saw a 51% upswing in profits due to corporate clients and lower costs despite what UBS labelled “low volatility and uneven client activity levels”.
Sergio Ermotti, group CEO, said UBS would “continue to manage the business with discipline, focusing on sustainable performance and long-term growth”.
The bank committed itself to attracting $5bn of assets to its wealth management business over the next five years in plans to support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals with an emphasis on improving gender diversity in business.
However, it warned that investor sentiment and confidence “have not yet fully translated into a sustained increase in client activity levels” and that further economic uncertainty and geopolitics threatens to dampen confidence in the coming years.
It added: “Low and negative interest rates, particularly in Switzerland and the eurozone, continue to present headwinds to net interest margins.
“These may be partially offset by the effect of higher US dollar interest rates and a further normalisation of monetary policy.”
