UBS: 4Q loss, shares bought back as Credit Suisse deal ends

UBS, the Swiss banking giant, has reported a pretax loss of over $750 million for the fourth quarter of 2023. This loss is attributed to the ongoing integration of Credit Suisse following a government-orchestrated merger. UBS expects to complete the merger of Credit Suisse by the end of the second quarter of 2024, and the merger of the two banks’ Swiss operations by the end of the third quarter. Despite the loss, UBS plans to increase its dividend for the 2023 financial year by 27% and resume share buybacks in the second half of the year. The bank also reported that net new assets came in at $22 billion during the fourth quarter, and $77 billion for the entire year of 2023.