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UBS, Société Générale and Barclays have become the latest banks to reap a decline from market unrest issued by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, as traders helped strengthen lenders for better than the first trimester profits were expected.
UBS market business revenues increased 32 percent in a record $ 2.5 billion, Socgen trading revenues climbed 11 percent to € 1,76BN, while Barclays reported a £ £ 2.7bn increase.
Since returning to the White House in January, the disordered Trump tariff policy has prevailed in global stock markets, bonds and currencies, causing instability as investors struggle with the consequences of trying to recover the global trading order.
UBS said on Wednesday: “Markets are likely to remain sensitive to new, positive and negative developments, which are likely to lead to further rivets in instability.”
Stellar trading performance helped the three banks’ profits exceed expectations for a quarter, making the blow from a slowdown in this period.
UBS reported net profit of $ 1.7bn in quarter, exceeding $ 1.3BN forecast by analysts, but from $ 1.8bn in the same period a year earlier. The income was flat at $ 12.6bn.
Socgen’s net income more than doubled to 1.6bn € while profits at barclays increased to £ 1.9bn, from £ 1.6bn a year ago, exceeding predictions.
The trio joins Wall Street’s largest banks in driving market instability. JPMORGAN Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, the Bank of America and Citigroup together generated nearly $ 37BN in revenue from trading in three months.
In Soc Gen, the stock trading business was distinguished, with income that climbed more than one fifth in a record of € 1.06bn. Barclays fixed income traders submitted a 21 percent jump in income while its capital revenue increased 9 percent.
The strong show by UBS trading business overshadowed its global wealth management business, the biggest bank’s profit engine in recent years.
The Division withdrew $ 32 billion in new assets in this period, with the pre -tax profit of the 1.4bn $ unit driven by higher tariffs.
Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti said: “The power and degree of our diverse global exclusivity, coupled with our constant focus on clients, led to strong three -month business momentum and new net flows in our assets.”
Ermotti, who returned to lead the bank’s integration for the former Suisse credit rival in 2023, said the process was “on the right track”. UBS is in the midst of the change of more than 1MN Swiss retail clients in its systems, one of the most complex parts of integration.
