UBS Chairman Weber Says Focus On French Fine, U.S. Expansion
UBS Chairman Weber Says Focus On French Fine, U.S. Expansion
(Bloomberg) --
UBS Group AG Chairman Axel Weber said priorities this year will include resolving a French tax evasion case and expanding its key wealth management unit in the U.S.
The Swiss lender was slapped with a $5 billion fine after a Paris court found it guilty of helping wealthy French clients stash undeclared funds in Swiss accounts, a decision that depressed the bank’s share price. The case is set for retrial in June.
“We have a laser focus on the French trial,” said Weber said in an Bloomberg TV interview Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “That’s best thing we can do for shareholders in the first half of this year.”
The bank slashed financial targets on Tuesday including profit, cost efficiency and dividend growth. While it benefited from a trading rebound, a pivot away from investment banking and toward wealth management left it exposed to the impact of negative interest rates and fickle clients who pulled money in the final quarter.
Turning to the bank’s plans in the U.S., the Swiss lender is seeking to build its market share with a tight focus on wealth management and a goal of breaking into the top four in the country. Still, he acknowledged that UBS can’t compete with large American firms in wholesale banking.
“We want to improve our position and close the gap with the U.S. banks,” said Weber. “But we still need to build that top segment for which we are known.”
On costs, the chairman said that he wants to improve efficiency at the wealth unit but said spending will be difficult to bring down due to compensation for its key client advisers.
To contact the reporter on this story: Marion Halftermeyer in Zurich at mhalftermeye@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net, Ross Larsen
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