UBS: Khan’s rising star crashed in Asia

UBS can enjoy the shadow of the CS Chaos stage. Today, it presents a quarterly result that gives hardly anything to talk about. Group profits increased from 1.8 to 2.1 billion, what do you want more?

Indeed, beneath the surface, something central lies in the chaos. Ironically, in Asia, where No. 1 has committed the most growth with the rich, UBS is experiencing a meltdown.

and what. Pre-tax profits in the Far East have collapsed by a whopping 38 per cent.

What happens there? The question is directed to the outstanding Iqbal Khan. The manager, who two and a half years ago took charge of global wealth management excluding the Americas, is suffering a severe setback after impressive quarters.

He can counter the development in Switzerland, where pre-tax profits in wealth management rose 30 per cent from January to the end of March, as well as the rest of Europe with a 21 per cent increase.

Khan’s sparring partner at the helm of Global Wealth Management (GWM), American Tom Naratell, has also lost feathers with his region of the Americas. minus 6% profit before tax.

However, the collapse in Asia is eye-catching. You would expect something else – the opposite. But if the lockdown continues in China, UBS will not be immune to crises and recession either.

Russia added, because the bank must be present 100 million failures Rub on the leg. Compared to CS, these are peanuts.

Overall, the bank’s performance in the major asset management business raises the question of whether the journey to the moon will continue or whether the peak has already been crossed.

With nearly $5 billion, more than every second dollar of the group’s revenue comes from the wealthy’s advisory and asset management business.

However, the division’s profit share was less than 50 percent. On the contrary, investment banking. This contributed less than a third of total revenue, but contributed just over a third of total pre-tax earnings.

why is that? Private banking was supposed to be the pearl of UBS, not investment banking. There is something not right.

High-level issues? It may be. But it also raises the question of how secretive the country’s leading bank has become. For them, Grün & Sozial seems to be the best.

“Support for Ukraine”, “Climate Roadmap”, “Inclusive Investment” characterize the disclosure today. There are more important things than making money, so the message. She is doing good. This fits the world, but seems unworldly in the realm of money.