Swiss bank UBS AG reported a third-quarter loss of 564 million Swiss francs (US$542 million) yesterday, blaming accounting charges of SF2.15 billion for keeping it in the red.
The Zurich-based bank recorded a net profit of SF283 million during the same period last year.
Discounting these one-time charges, the Zurich-based bank would have made a pretax profit of SF1.56 billion, it said.
UBS said operating income rose 4 percent to SF5.77 billion compared with the same period last year.
Analysts had predicted a third consecutive quarterly loss this year, but differed widely in how to assess the expected writedowns, most of which resulted from tightening credit spreads.
“Business is steadily returning to normal,” said chief executive Oswald Gruebel, who joined the bank in March. “Management actions are delivering visible results, and we are continuing to emphasize risk reduction and capital strength.”
UBS said it has further reduced its risky investments, while staff numbers were reduced by almost 2,800 and now stand at just more than 69,000.
Gruebel said clients were regaining confidence in the bank now that it has settled a long-running dispute with US tax authorities over allegations it helped thousands of wealthy Americans evade taxes.
UBS has agreed to hand over the names of 4,450 American customers the US government suspects of large-scale tax evasion.
The Swiss government’s decision to end its stake in the bank would also help rebuild trust, Gruebel said.
The bank’s Tier 1 capital ratio reached 15 percent by the end of September, up from 13.2 percent at the end of the second quarter.
The higher the ratio, the more stable a bank is generally considered to be.
Yesterday’s results again put UBS behind cross-town rival Credit Suisse Group, which last month posted a net profit of SF2.4 billion for the third quarter.
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