Thursday, 6 February 2025 Reading time : 2 minutes

Several Swiss financials reported their annual earnings at the start of the year, with the focus this week on UBS and Julius Baer. Although both banks have delivered good results, their shares have experienced a setback in recent days. 

On Tuesday, UBS reported surprisingly good results and announced a share buyback programme of up to USD 3 billion for the current year. The bank plans to raise its dividend to USD 0.90, while the integration of former rival Credit Suisse appears to be on track. According to Bloomberg, the Swiss bank's results beat market expectations. Despite this, the bank's shares have slipped, losing around 12% over the course of the week. The setback is likely to be triggered by uncertainty over a possible tightening of capital requirements for the major bank.

Julius Baer also seems to be in a much better position than it was a year ago, having posted a billion-dollar profit in 2024. Last year, writedowns on loans to the now-collapsed Signa Group, owned by former real estate investor René Benko, weighed on the private bank's annual results. Julius Bär subsequently parted with CEO Philipp Rickenbacher. His successor, Stefan Bolliger, is now pushing ahead with the bank's restructuring and has announced a reduction in the size of the executive board. In addition, an additional CHF 110 million is to be saved this year.

However, investors remain sceptical. On Monday, Bloomberg reported that the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) has opened an investigation into the private bank, looking into risk management deficiencies in connection with the bankruptcy of the Signa Group. The shares have lost around 12% since the start of the week.

The online bank Swissquote is looking back on a successful year. In mid-January, Swissquote announced better-than-expected preliminary results for 2024. The company, which has its roots in French-speaking Switzerland, is on course for growth across all areas, according to the key figures published: Pre-tax profit rose by around 90% compared with 2023, and net new assets increased from CHF 5 billion to CHF 8.3 billion. Swissquote will publish further details on 20 March. Swissquote's performance is being rewarded by the stock market. The publication of the preliminary annual results has given the equities a further boost, taking it to an all-time high this week.

Private equity specialist Partners Group had a rather mediocre year. Although the Baar-based asset manager grew in 2024, assets under management increased less than expected, according to Bloomberg. In terms of capital commitments from clients, Partners Group met its targets. However, investors seem to be confident in Partners Group: its shares have gained more than 13% since the beginning of the year, after a more modest performance last year (+4.6%).

The Barrier Reverse Convertible on UBS, Julius Baer, Swissquote and Partners Group combines four Swiss financials, with the barrier of 63% providing a cushion against possible price setbacks.

Barrier Reverse Convertible on Swiss Financials
9.00% p.a. BRC on UBS, Julius Baer, Swissquote, Partners Group
Barrier: 63%
Valor: 140 251 848

Indicative terms

 

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