Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Two of Switzerland’s largest companies, bank UBS and reinsurance company Swiss Re, published third quarter results Tuesday 3 November. UBS continues to post losses for each quarter of 2009. Its Q3 loss was CHF564 million, compared to nearly CHF2 billion and CHF1.4b for the first and second quarters respectively. This is the fourth consecutive quarter that the bank has posted a loss, but its priority is to return to profitability after posting the largest loss in Swiss corporate history in 2008, CHF21.3 billion.
Swiss Re posted profits of CHF334 million, continuing its solid recovery after a dismal 2008 as it strengthens its capital base.
UBS’s latest figures reflect the change in the company’s debt after the government recently sold shares that were part of its efforts to prop up the bank during the international financial crisis. Capital outflows continued, with CHF36.7 billion leaving the bank from July to September.
UBS’s tier 1 capital stands at a healthy 15 percent, up almost two percentage points since 30 June 2009, and it has rid its balance sheet of more risky assets. The bank reduced personnel by 2,783 in the quarter, to just over 69,000.
It says that it has stabilized the business, cost reductions are on track, and it is guardedly optimistic for increased profitability in 2010, depending on market and financial conditions.
This work by genevalunch.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported.
News story, GenevaLunch, 3 November 2009.
Filed under: Business
Tags: Swiss Re, third quarter results, UBS