UBS

This article is about the investment bank and financial services company. For other uses, see UBS (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with the courier company UPS, or United Parcel Service.

UBS Group AG
FormerlyUnion Bank of Switzerland (1862–1998)
Company typePublic (Aktiengesellschaft)
ISINCH0244767585
Industry
Predecessor
Founded29 June 1998; 26 years ago (1998-06-29) (through the merger of Union Bank of Switzerland and Swiss Bank Corporation)
HeadquartersZürich, Switzerland
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Products
RevenueIncrease US$40.8 billion (2023)
Increase US$28.7 billion (2023)
Increase US$27.8 billion (2023)
AUMIncrease US$5.71 trillion (2023)
Total assetsIncrease US$1.72 trillion (2023)
Total equityIncrease US$86.1 billion (2023)
Number of employees
115,038 (end 2023)
SubsidiariesCredit Suisse[2]
Capital ratioIncrease Tier 1 14.4% (2023)
RatingS&P: A+
Moody's: Aa2
Fitch: AA-
Websitewww.ubs.com Edit this at Wikidata
Footnotes / references
UBS Institutional Reporting as of: end of 2023[3][4]

UBS Group AG[nb 1] is a multinational investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Headquartered simultaneously in Zürich and Basel,[9] it maintains a presence in all major financial centres as the largest Swiss banking institution and the largest private bank in the world. UBS investment bankers and private bankers are known for their strict bank–client confidentiality and culture of banking secrecy.[nb 2] Because of the bank's large positions in the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific markets, the Financial Stability Board considers it a global systemically important bank.

Apart from private banking, UBS provides wealth management, asset management and investment banking services for private, corporate and institutional clients with international service. UBS manages the largest amount of private wealth in the world, counting approximately half of The World's Billionaires among its clients. UBS also maintains a global investment bank and is considered a primary market maker. The bank also maintains numerous underground bank vaults, bunkers and storage facilities for gold bars around the Swiss Alps and internationally. Partly due to its banking secrecy, it has been at the centre of numerous tax avoidance investigations undertaken by U.S., French, German, Israeli and Belgian authorities. UBS operations in Switzerland and the United States were respectively ranked first and second on the 2018 Financial Secrecy Index.

As of December 2023, UBS is the seventh largest bank in Europe with total assets worth over €1.554 trillion.[16] It is one of the eight global "Bulge Bracket" banks. It has over CHF 3.2 trillion in assets under management (AUM), approximately CHF 2.8 trillion of which are invested assets.[17] In June 2017, its return on invested capital was 11.1%, followed by Goldman Sachs' 9.35%, and JPMorgan Chase's 9.456%.[18] UBS acquired rival Credit Suisse in an emergency rescue deal brokered by the Swiss government and its Central bank in 2023, following which UBS' AUM increased to over $5 trillion along with an increased balanced sheet of $1.6 trillion.[19] In late 2016, UBS established a blockchain technology research lab in London to advance its cyber security and encryption of client activities. Based on regional deal flow and political influence, UBS is considered one of the "biggest, most powerful financial institutions in the world".[20][21] The company's capital strength, security protocols, and reputation for discretion have yielded a substantial market share in banking and a high level of brand loyalty. Alternatively, it receives routine criticism for facilitating tax noncompliance and off-shore financing. UBS is a primary dealer and Forex counterparty of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

  1. ^ Hirt, Oliver; Janowski, Tomasz (9 May 2023). "UBS replaces CFO, keeps Credit Suisse's Koerner in top team". Reuters. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023.
  2. ^ "UBS completes Credit Suisse acquisition". UBS. 12 June 2023.
  3. ^ "UBS Annual Report 2023" (PDF). UBS. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 March 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  4. ^ "UBS Credit Ratings". UBS Group AG. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  5. ^ "UBS: Union Bank of Switzerland". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  6. ^ "UBS Corporate Information: What does 'UBS' stand for?". www.ubs.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2018. The name 'UBS' came from one of our predecessor firms - the Union Bank of Switzerland. However, just like other prominent brands, which used to be an abbreviation of a company name, UBS is no longer considered an acronym.
  7. ^ O'Donnell, John (28 April 2008). "UBS architect Ospel leaves battered bank". Reuters. Archived from the original on 3 January 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2018. The three-times married banker was the architect of what was originally meant to be called United Bank of Switzerland — the fusion of Swiss Bank Corporation and Union Bank of Switzerland in 1998. He later masterminded the acquisition of U.S.-based PaineWebber.
  8. ^ "UBS Organizational Structure: How we are organized". www.ubs.com. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  9. ^ Locations, UBS Official website (7 July 2024). "Locations UBS Global, 2024".
  10. ^ Neghaiwi, Brenna Hughes (31 October 2017). "Exclusive: Swiss prosecutors seek widening of secrecy law to..." Reuters. Archived from the original on 3 January 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  11. ^ "FINRA.org: Customer Information Protection". www.finra.org. Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  12. ^ Obringer, Lee Ann (6 November 2007). "How Swiss Bank Accounts Work". HowStuffWorks. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  13. ^ Moscovici, Pierre (27 May 2015). "Fighting tax evasion: EU and Switzerland sign historic tax transparency agreement". europa.eu. European Commission. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  14. ^ Pickert, Kate (26 February 2009). "A Brief History Of: Swiss Banks". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  15. ^ Phung, Albert (31 March 2018). "How do I open a Swiss bank account, and what makes them so special?". Investopedia. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  16. ^ Market Intelligence, S&P Global (30 April 2024). "Europe's 50 largest banks by assets, 2024".
  17. ^ Neghaiwi, Brenna Hughes (21 April 2017). "Wealth management boosts UBS profit but future uncertain". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  18. ^ Trainer, David (21 December 2017). "Betting On The Future Of Wealth Management With UBS". Forbes. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  19. ^ Illien, Noele (12 June 2023). "UBS completes Credit Suisse takeover to become wealth management behemoth". Reuters. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023.
  20. ^ Friedersdorf, Conor (31 July 2015). "Hillary Helps a Bank—and Then It Funnels Millions to the Clintons". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2018. The Swiss bank UBS is one of the biggest, most powerful financial institutions in the world.
  21. ^ Ballhaus, Rebecca (21 July 2015). "UBS Deal Shows Clinton's Complicated Ties". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2018.


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