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UBS Asia builds on last year’s bumper performance with a strong start to 2021 but boss cautions on bonuses

  • Asia-Pacific contributed quarter of the Swiss lender’s 2020 pre-tax profits
  • Talks ongoing regarding raising stake in China securities joint venture to 66 per cent

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Swiss bank UBS is looking to grow in mainland China. Photo: Bloomberg

Swiss bank UBS is off to a strong start to the year in Asia, with profits tracking even higher than last year’s blockbuster performance, but regional boss Edmund Koh tamped down staff expectations of blowout bonuses.

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Rising stock markets and China’s economic recovery from the pandemic are boosting the bank’s bottom line. UBS posted its most robust annual results since 2016 this week, with Asia-Pacific generating about a quarter of its pre-tax profits in 2020.

“The beginning of the year has actually been stronger than last year … But let’s see, it’s still very early,” said Koh, who heads UBS in the Asia-Pacific region during an interview with the Post.

On banker bonuses, Koh said UBS would be prudent. It evens out staff compensation across good and bad years, so employees should not “get carried away, just because we’ve doubled our [regional] profits.”

UBS’s Edmund Koh sees strong start to 2021. Photo: Handout
UBS’s Edmund Koh sees strong start to 2021. Photo: Handout
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As it weighs payouts, UBS also considers rewarding shareholders via dividends and buy-backs. That being said, “most [staff] should be happy”, said Koh, a Singaporean who has risen through the ranks at the world’s largest wealth manager by assets after joining the company in 2012.

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