Swiss banking giant UBS said Tuesday it would hand shareholders up to $1 billion in share buybacks as it posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss stemming from the costs of absorbing fallen rival Credit Suisse.
Presenting its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings, the bank reported a net loss of $279 million in the final three months of 2023 — far less than the nearly $500 million analysts had been bracing for. The result followed a bigger, $785 million loss in the third quarter.
For the full year, UBS bagged a net profit of $29 billion in 2023.
Much of the gain stemmed from the difference between the value of the assets obtained in the acquisition of Credit Suisse and the discount price of $3.25 billion.—AFP
