UBS, a Swiss global investment bank, posted a net profit of US$7.6 billion in 2022 despite the “difficult macroeconomic and geopolitical environment.” Additionally, the Swiss financial services company reported a profit before tax (PBT) of US$9.6 billion and diluted earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.25 during the past year.

UBS disclosed these figures on Tuesday in its full-year and fourth-quarter 2022 results. During the last quarter of 2022, the global bank said it generated US$1.9 billion in profit before tax with an EPS of US$0.50.

These profits before tax reflect across UBS' global wealth management, personal and corporate banking, asset management and investment banking businesses. For instance, PBT for the global wealth management business reached US$1 billion in Q4 2022 and $US5 billion during the 2022 financial year, both representing growth rates of 88% and 4% year-over-year (YoY), respectively.

However, these “solid” results are despite YoY decreases in UBS’ revenues from the various units of its business. While the company’s revenue from its global wealth management business dropped 5%, the asset management division decreased 31%. Furthermore, total revenue from UBS’ investment banking activities declined 24%. On the contrary, revenue from the bank’s personal and corporate banking activities rose 10% YoY in 2022.

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UBS’ Performance in Various Regions

According to UBS, its global wealth management business generated net new fee-generating assets of US$17 billion in the past year. Moreover, the asset management unit was able to generate US$21 billion of net new money from the region, the financial services company said.

In Switzerland, where the global investment bank is headquartered, UBS said it posted record loan and deposit volumes as the firm maintained its position as the top bank in the country. This is even as UBS generated US$7 billion in net new loans and US$9 billion in net new deposits from a combination of its global wealth management and personal and corporate banking businesses.

Furthermore, in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, UBS said its net new fee-generating assets reached US$20 billion. On top of that, the global bank noted that it sold its domestic wealth management business in Spain during the past year.

In addition, the Swiss company reported significant performance from its business activities in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, generating US$14 billion in net new fee-generating assets during the period.

Speaking on its performance, UBS noted that its “unwavering commitment” to its clients made it possible to “maintain positive momentum across the firm” in the past year.

“Against this backdrop, we attracted USD 60bn in net new fee-generating assets in global wealth management for the full year, USD 25bn of net new money in asset management (of which USD 26bn in Money Market), and CHF 2bn of net new investment products for Personal Banking, an 8% growth rate,” UBS explained.