BERLIN – Swiss bank UBS has reported a 2.22 billion-franc ($2.3 billion) loss for the fourth quarter as a result of a large writedown caused by the newly enacted U.S. tax reform.
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UBS said Monday it wrote down nearly 2.87 billion francs in deferred tax assets due to the reform. It said it would have had a 641 million-franc profit without the charge.
However, the bank said the overall picture last year was “excellent.” CEO Sergio Emotti said: “We delivered stronger financial results and met our net cost reduction target.”
UBS said in March it will start a three-year share buyback program worth up to 2 billion francs — up to 550 million francs of that this year. It is proposing a 2017 dividend of 0.65 francs per share, an 8 percent increase.
