UBS lifts Credit Suisse savings outlook as third-quarter operating profit before tax rises 27%

The Tip Desk · October 30, 2026 · 4 min read

Operating profit before tax was USD 3,587 million in the third quarter as total revenues reached USD 13,350 million.

UBS Group (UBS) reported operating profit before tax of USD 3,587 million for the third quarter of 2026, up 27% from USD 2,828 million a year earlier, as total revenues rose 5% year on year to USD 13,350 million.

The year-on-year profit increase reflected higher revenues and lower operating expenses. Total revenues included a USD 739 million decrease in purchase-price-allocation effects and other integration items. Other income rose USD 326 million, largely from a USD 697 million net gain on settlements of certain legacy legal matters in Non-core and Legacy, partly offset by a USD 346 million net loss on the repurchase of legacy Credit Suisse debt. Net fee and commission income increased USD 286 million.

Net interest income was USD 2,414 million, up 22% from USD 1,981 million in the third quarter of 2025. Other net income from financial instruments measured at fair value through profit or loss was USD 3,047 million. Combined, those two lines were USD 5,460 million. The year-on-year decline in that combined figure was primarily driven by Group Items, which reported negative revenues of USD 422 million, versus negative revenues of USD 153 million a year earlier, on mark-to-market effects on economic hedges and valuation effects on callable own debt.

Operating expenses were USD 9,648 million, down 2% from USD 9,831 million a year earlier, including an USD 871 million decrease in integration-related expenses and PPA effects. Personnel expenses were USD 6,703 million. Credit loss expense was USD 114 million. Cost of credit risk was 7 bps. Credit-impaired lending assets were 1.0% of total lending assets, gross.

Net profit attributable to shareholders was USD 2,690 million, and diluted earnings were USD 0.85 a share. Underlying profit before tax was USD 4,077 million. Underlying revenues excluded PPA effects and other integration items of negative USD 38 million, including the USD 346 million net loss on the Credit Suisse debt repurchase. Underlying expenses excluded integration-related expenses and PPA effects of USD 452 million. The USD 697 million legacy legal gain was included in underlying results.

In September, UBS repurchased USD 9.8 billion aggregate principal of legacy Credit Suisse senior debt for about USD 9.9 billion, recognizing the USD 346 million net loss, including a USD 241 million release of purchase-price-allocation adjustments. The company said the loss is expected to be offset in future periods by lower ongoing interest expense.

UBS realized an additional USD 0.6 billion of gross cost savings in the quarter, taking cumulative gross savings to USD 13.2 billion versus the 2022 combined cost base. It now expects around USD 13.7 billion by the end of 2026, above its prior ambition of around USD 13.5 billion. About 98% of in-scope legacy Credit Suisse IT applications were no longer in use and around 90% had been fully decommissioned. Non-core and Legacy had achieved a 91% reduction in underlying operating expenses excluding litigation versus the 2022 baseline and a 68% reduction in RWA since the second quarter of 2023, with credit and market risk RWA at USD 3 billion, ahead of a year-end 2026 ambition of around USD 4 billion.

Common equity tier 1 capital was USD 73,117 million at 30 September 2026, lifting the CET1 ratio to 14.7% from 14.4% at 30 June. Risk-weighted assets were USD 496,111 million. UBS repurchased USD 1,807 million of shares in the quarter and said it expects to complete its current USD 3 billion program by the time of fourth-quarter 2026 results, maintaining a CET1 ratio of around 14%.

The Council of States supported a proposal that, if enacted, would require UBS AG to hold about USD 16 billion of additional CET1 capital, implying around USD 33 billion of incremental CET1 since the Credit Suisse acquisition. Ordinance-level changes announced earlier in the year would eliminate an estimated USD 4 billion of Group CET1, with total annual capital-related cost of about USD 2.5 billion. In October, UBS agreed to transfer former Credit Suisse fund administration businesses in Luxembourg and Switzerland to Northern Trust, expected to close in the second quarter of 2027 with no material profit or loss, and exercised warrants for about a 4.8% equity stake in 360 ONE WAM Ltd.