UBS Group AG (UBS) Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

For the period ending December 31, 2022

April 25, 2023 3:00 a.m. ET

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to the First Quarter 2023 Results Presentation. The conference must not be recorded for publication or broadcast. [Operator Instructions] At this time, it's my pleasure to hand over to Sarah Mackey, UBS Investor Relations. Please go ahead, madam.

Sarah Mackey

Good morning, and welcome, everyone. Before we start, I would like to draw your attention to our cautionary statement slide at the back of today's results presentation. Please also refer to the risk factors in our 2022 annual report together with additional disclosures in our SEC filings. On Slide 2, you can see our agenda for today. It's now my pleasure to hand over to Sergio Ermotti, Group CEO.

Sergio Ermotti

Thank you, Sarah. Good morning, everyone. I'm happy to be back here with all of you, and it's an honor and privilege to lead UBS once again, especially at such a pivotal time for our organization and for all our stakeholders. First of all, I'd like to thank Ralph, the management team and all of our employees for their dedication over the last 2.5 years. During this time, UBS delivered record results and continued to build trust and confidence with our clients and our stakeholders.

Our performance this quarter demonstrates that we continue to be a source of stability for our clients during periods of significant uncertainty. Our strong flows across Global Wealth Management and Asset Management reflect our clients' continued confidence and trust in us. The results include an increase in litigation provisions relating to U.S. residential mortgage-backed securities. We are in advanced discussions with the U.S. Department of Justice, and I'm pleased that we are making progress towards resolving this legacy matter that dates back 15 years.

On an underlying basis, which also excludes litigation, our results were solid, with a return on CET1 capital of 16.5%, and a cost-to-income ratio of 72.8%.When I left UBS in 2020, our strength and stability put us in a position to consider all options for our future, including transformative acquisitions. Today, UBS is stronger than ever. We diversified revenue streams, continued capital and liquidity strength, disciplined risk management and a balance sheet for all seasons.

As a result, we are well prepared to be part of the solution to rescue Credit Suisse and contribute to financial stability in Switzerland and globally. Despite its complexity, I'm convinced that this transaction will also provide value for the clients and employees of the combined organizations. The acquisitions enable us to benefit from the significant value, franchise value, and in many cases, complementary businesses within Credit Suisse.