Today\u2019s need-to-know storiesUBS plans $3bn buyback on higher-than-expected profits<\/p>\n
UBS has launched a fresh $3bn buyback after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter results, boosted by wealth management earnings and record trading revenues.<\/p>\n
The Swiss bank said it planned to repurchase the shares by the middle of next year, including at least $1bn over the next three months. The announcement follows a separate $3bn buyback completed this month.<\/p>\n
UBS reported a 17 per cent year-on-year rise in second-quarter net profit to $2.8bn, beating analyst expectations of $2.39bn.<\/p>\n
Chief executive Sergio Ermotti said the bank was beginning to benefit from almost three years of work integrating Credit Suisse, after a difficult process involving \u201ca lot of hard work\u201d and \u201cpainful decisions\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese efforts are paying off,\u201d he said, adding that shareholders\u2019 \u201cpatience and support\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009is starting to be rewarded\u201d.<\/p>\n
UBS said the timing and scale of future share repurchases would depend on its financial performance and the outcome of proposed Swiss capital reforms. <\/p>\n
The Swiss government wants UBS to hold additional capital against its foreign subsidiaries, a change the bank estimates could require around $22bn in extra common equity tier one capital. UBS has argued that the requirement would weaken its competitiveness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lawmakers are expected to begin drafting legislation next month, with the parliamentary process likely to continue into next year.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank reported a 10 per cent rise in second-quarter net profit from a year earlier to \u20ac1.9bn, beating expectations as investment banking revenues climbed 19 per cent on stronger US trading.<\/p>\n
Standard Chartered sees 9% profit rise <\/p>\n
Standard Chartered announced a nine per cent increase in pre-tax profits in the first half of the year, boosted by increased revenue from its wealth and global banking businesses. <\/p>\n
The bank saw profits increase to $4.78bn, up on the $4.38bn recorded a year earlier. The increase came despite a $150mn credit impairment during the second quarter, with $44mn related to the war in the Middle East and potential second-order effects, such as the impact on the oil and gas sector and potential sovereign downgrades. <\/p>\n
StanChart also announced a $1bn share buyback following a $1.5bn share buyback earlier in the year. <\/p>\n
In May, the bank outlined profitability goals of achieving more than 15 per cent return on tangible equity in 2028, and to exceed 18 per cent in 2030. In addition, the bank seeks to raise income per employee by a fifth. The plans also include cutting the workforce due to AI, with around 8,000 back-office jobs likely to go. <\/p>\n
JPMorgan advises Fifa on controversial World Cup scheme<\/p>\n
JPMorgan is advising Fifa on plans to raise up to $4.2bn by selling investors a roughly 20 per cent stake in a new company known as Fifa Forward Enterprise, which intends to house the governing body\u2019s commercial and events businesses. <\/p>\n
The proposal, which remains subject to support from a majority of member associations and relevant Fifa Council approvals, has been heavily criticised by Uefa, European football\u2019s governing body. <\/p>\n
Fifa said the proposed FFE structure would allow each of its 211 member associations to apply for up to $20mn in optional, one-off funding for special projects, while regular funding would increase from $8mn to $20mn per association for the 2027 to 2030 cycle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joshua Kushner\u2019s Thrive Eternal fund is in talks to lead the investment, which could value FFE at around $20bn, according to the FT, which first reported Fifa\u2019s plans. <\/p>\n
Kushner\u2019s involvement is likely to increase scrutiny of Fifa\u2019s political ties. His brother, Jared Kushner, is married to Ivanka Trump, daughter of US President Donald Trump.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has cultivated a close relationship with Trump, including awarding him the governing body\u2019s inaugural \u201cpeace prize\u201d in December, a move critics said breached Fifa\u2019s rules on political neutrality.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis crosses a line that football\u2019s governing institutions should never cross. Uefa takes it extremely seriously,\u201d Uefa said. \u201cThe soul and governance of football are not assets to trade \u2014 especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hong Kong\u2019s banks unprepared for quantum computing <\/p>\n
Hong Kong\u2019s banks are broadly unprepared for the arrival of quantum computing, according to a report by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, scoring an aggregate of 2.3 out of 10 in the regulator\u2019s first Quantum Preparedness Index. <\/p>\n
Based on research carried out earlier this year, around 68 per cent of banks demonstrated awareness of or are progressing to planning or piloting stages around quantum. The remaining 32 per cent have not yet started to transition. Around half of the banks do not have any formal post-quantum planning in place. <\/p>\n
The amount banks are planning to invest in quantum is also low, the regulator found, with around 39 per cent of respondents stating they will allocate a portion of the innovation budget over the next three to five years. <\/p>\n
Of those planning to invest, 28 per cent stated they were allocating 5 per cent or below of the budget, with 11 per cent stating it would be 5 per cent or above. The remaining 61 per cent of respondents did not plan to allocate any budget. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Today\u2019s need-to-know storiesUBS plans $3bn buyback on higher-than-expected profits UBS has launched a fresh $3bn buyback after reporting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":109480,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[129],"tags":[4246,223],"class_list":["post-109479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ubs","tag-need-to-know","tag-ubs"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/117003178729891272","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}