The positive results have been driven by the sale of its 20.7% stake in Julius Baer, which resulted in a CHF1.9 billion post-tax gain for the group. The successful quarter was also attributed to the charge of CHF229 million after tax related to the closure of Dillon Read Capital Management, the hedge fund business UBS closed in May 2007, following losses from trading in the US subprime mortgage market.
Excluding these two one-off impacts, profit from the group’s core operational businesses would have reached only CHF3.5 billion, representing a 14% rise from the same period a year ago.
Meanwhile, net fee and commission income, which MarketWatch said accounted for 52% of total operating revenue, reached a record high of CHF8 billion, up 26% over Q2 2006, while total operating expenses rose 21% to CHF9.7 billion for the three-month period.
Looking forward, the group is working on a number of growth initiatives, including the expansion of the European wealth management business, investment in the investment bank fixed income business and the growth of US wealth management.
