UBS strength gives a lift to UK banking profits hopes

Rising: UBS quarterly profits increased thanks to a focus on wealth management

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Investor hopes that banks are poised to report strong profits were boosted on Monday when UBS revealed a 17% jump in returns.

That follows a bumper first quarter for Wall Street banks and comes ahead of figures from UK rivals that are expected to be strong.

The Swiss bank’s chief executive, Sergio Ermotti, said the start of the year had been “excellent” and “momentum in our business is good”.

The leap in profits to Swfr589 million (£430 million) was a bit less than analysts had been hoping for, however, and the shares fell 4% in Zurich.

Under Ermotti, UBS is focusing on wealth management, pulling back somewhat from investment banking and bond trading.

City analysts expect UK banks Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Standard Chartered to post combined profits of £36 billion.

That would take them back to where they were before the financial crash of 2008.