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Speaker 1: I think so much for speaking to Bloomberg. So we

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Speaker 1: have one billion dollars in buybacks, positive outlook for twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty four. You're confirming your profitability target for twenty twenty five.

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Speaker 1: Are you pleased with today?

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Speaker 2: No, I'm very pleased that we finished the year with

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Speaker 2: a very strong momentum. We achieved a strong underlying profitability

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Speaker 2: for the second quarter, for the fourth quarter, and also

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Speaker 2: we saw clients confirming their trust in our organizations. Twenty

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Speaker 2: two billions of new assets, strong depositive influence across wealth

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Speaker 2: management and the P and C. We made good progress

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Speaker 2: in winding down part of the now core exposures, and

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Speaker 2: also that has allowed us to then also reierate the

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Speaker 2: story that we are a capital We want to have

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Speaker 2: a dividend that is increasing progressively, so we have an

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Speaker 2: increase of twenty seven percent of our dividend, and also

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Speaker 2: in the second half of twenty twenty four we will

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Speaker 2: do a share buyback.

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Speaker 1: Ho would you describe twenty twenty four. I know your

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Speaker 1: chairman has said in the past, it's difficult here.

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Speaker 2: It's a pivotal year because if you think about the journey,

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Speaker 2: the first six months are very intense. I think we're

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Speaker 2: going to go through the merger of the two operating

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Speaker 2: entity ubs N Credit Swiss AG will merge in the

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Speaker 2: first half of the year. The subsidiaries in the US

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Speaker 2: and Switzerland will merge also during twenty twenty four. So

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Speaker 2: this is the prerequisite to be able to realize our syndergies.

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Speaker 2: We already achieved four billions of cost savings Etcitate twenty

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Speaker 2: twenty three. We now plan to have another gross savings

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Speaker 2: of nine billions between twenty four and twenty twenty six.

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Speaker 2: Partially this will be reinvested in the business to make

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Speaker 2: our platform more resilient and up to speed with the requirements,

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Speaker 2: but also to invest in our future.

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Speaker 1: So sera, how important was this investor update just to

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Speaker 1: give up a blueprint of the kind of growth that

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Speaker 1: you want to you know, to a chain and how I.

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Speaker 2: Think it's very important for investors to understand how we

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Speaker 2: are connecting the dots between what we say in summer

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Speaker 2: last year and in respect of our long term plans

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Speaker 2: in twenty twenty six plans and going beyond that. So

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Speaker 2: today we are providing few dots between twenty twenty four

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Speaker 2: and twenty twenty six how we achieve cost savings, how

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Speaker 2: we manage our balance sheet, how we want to manage

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Speaker 2: growth that has to come in a sustainable way. And

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Speaker 2: also we give also some indications about what to look

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Speaker 2: forward after the completion of the restructuring, which is then

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Speaker 2: going to enable us to harvest you know, the work

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Speaker 2: and we did with the quite attractive returns.

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Speaker 1: So how will you achieve this equality sustainable growth.

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Speaker 2: I think that one thing that we need to do

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Speaker 2: is to be willing in the next couple of years

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Speaker 2: to sacrifice a little bit of top line growth in

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Speaker 2: order to improve the returns on of our financial resources,

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Speaker 2: particularly on the balance sheet. So I think that you

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Speaker 2: know what we both was a very strong business in

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Speaker 2: terms of client based, very good people, very good capabilities,

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Speaker 2: but the balance sheet was not properly priced. We need

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Speaker 2: to price risks in a better way and that will

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Speaker 2: help us to contribute to our financial targets for twenty

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Speaker 2: twenty six and beyond.

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Speaker 1: So exactly what does that growth look like? Is it

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Speaker 1: focus on the US or elsewhere everywhere?

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Speaker 2: I think that when you look at our wealth management

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Speaker 2: and business, we are planning to add around one hundred

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Speaker 2: million a year in terms of assets. This is basically

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Speaker 2: the net numbers. We're going to want to grow more

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Speaker 2: on a growth basis, but we are willing also to

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Speaker 2: let some assets go that are not yielding what we

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Speaker 2: believe is the appropriate level to cover for risk and

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Speaker 2: capital costs. And then beyond that, we believe we're going

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Speaker 2: to grow at around two hundred billions. So if you

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Speaker 2: think about what it is we are recreating, you know,

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Speaker 2: the business we just acquired, you know, we acquired seven

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Speaker 2: hundred billions of assets. In the next three to four years,

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Speaker 2: we're going to build up organically the size of credit

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Speaker 2: switks again, so it's very important for us to do that,

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Speaker 2: but in a sustainable way.

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Speaker 1: But for the US, for example, can wee an acquisition No,

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Speaker 1: I think.

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Speaker 2: That the US, what we need to do is now

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Speaker 2: to institutionalize our platform by giving more capabilities on on

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Speaker 2: on deposits, on credit. We need to brought up more

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Speaker 2: of our global expertise in terms of CIO offering products,

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Speaker 2: the asset management capability that are coming in. And what

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Speaker 2: we need to do is also so to allow and

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Speaker 2: make it easier for our non US clients to book

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Speaker 2: business in the US because a lot of our global

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Speaker 2: clients they want to be also booked in the US,

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Speaker 2: and this is the real opportunity. So we believe that

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Speaker 2: by doing that, we're going to be able to narrow

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Speaker 2: the gap to our competitors and setting the base for

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Speaker 2: the next phase of growth.

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Speaker 1: So when you look at dividends and buybacks, how important

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Speaker 1: was it that this was ambitious or sufficiently ambitious for shareholders?

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Speaker 2: I think is the beginning of a journey. The journey,

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Speaker 2: so the fact that we are increasing our dividend by

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Speaker 2: twenty seven percent is a good message of confidence shared

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Speaker 2: by Back are coming. We want to be prudent in

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Speaker 2: the way we look at share by back. We want

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Speaker 2: to complete the first phase of the integration of the

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Speaker 2: legal entities in twenty twenty four, but is to give

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Speaker 2: a little bit of a flavor for where we want

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Speaker 2: to go by the end of twenty twenty six. We

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Speaker 2: want to exceed the levels of capital returns we had

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Speaker 2: before the acquisition. So I think that it's just a

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Speaker 2: testament of our confidence and our ability to generate capital

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Speaker 2: over as we also manage the integration for.

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Speaker 1: The Investment Bank of Credits Weez, I think you were

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Speaker 1: winding it down by two thirds, So this was kind

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Speaker 1: of the plan. Where are we on that journey?

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Speaker 2: I think that's everything that needed to be done in

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Speaker 2: terms of segregation of the non core activities has been done,

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Speaker 2: and now we have the third that we think is

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Speaker 2: going to add value to the combined franchise is operating.

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Speaker 2: They are ramping up their productivity. They are now part

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Speaker 2: of the business and I see very good promising starts.

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Speaker 2: So we see we are winning mandates globally. So I'm

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Speaker 2: very pleased with the momentum we see in banking.

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Speaker 1: When you look at the cost cuts, can you update

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Speaker 1: us on any job losses. There is no.

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Speaker 2: Major changes in terms of what we were planning during

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Speaker 2: the summer in terms of full time equivalence reductions and

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Speaker 2: so what we have been updating this morning is more

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Speaker 2: exactly the size of the gross savings. We were talking

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Speaker 2: about more than ten billions. Now we are pretty precise

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Speaker 2: on saying what it is. More than ten, it's thirteen.

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Speaker 2: But as I said, it's very important to understand that

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Speaker 2: we are cutting in order to create capacity to invest

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Speaker 2: also in infrastructure and growth.

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Speaker 1: But it's impossible to exclude further job cuts, of course,

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Speaker 1: but it's a continuation of course.

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Speaker 2: I mean more than fifty percent of our cost is

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Speaker 2: at count and there are duplications, but we try to

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Speaker 2: do it over time, also managing natural attrition and also

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Speaker 2: retirements early retirements. We do internalize much more than we

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Speaker 2: had before in the combined entities, so that's also allowing

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Speaker 2: us to retain many talented people both organizations.

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Speaker 1: Bonuses. If I don't ask about bonuses, I'm going to

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Speaker 1: have angry bankers email and what can you tell us

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Speaker 1: about bonus?

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Speaker 2: Well, they already know the answers, so they don't need

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Speaker 2: you to ask me the questions because we have communicated

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Speaker 2: their bonuses.

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Speaker 1: So a good year, I think was what was is

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Speaker 1: a year that.

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Speaker 2: Considered both the financial performance but also also the efforts

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Speaker 2: that were put into into this. I'm very pleased with

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Speaker 2: the efforts that our people were brought into into making

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Speaker 2: the integration successful. They are integrating well in the in

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Speaker 2: the culture. In the culture, they see the upside momentum.

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Speaker 2: So I think compensation is reflecting all of it. But

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Speaker 2: it's measured and uh and uh uh totally aligned with

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Speaker 2: the UBS standards on how we pay people.

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Speaker 1: So do you also have an activist shareholder who's increased

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Speaker 1: of course, their stake in UBS CVN. Have you had conversations.

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Speaker 1: I mean that they're actually quite bullish on the UBS case,

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Speaker 1: saying that you can double the share price the next

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Speaker 1: two to three years.

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Speaker 2: We are also very boolish about our future. So I

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Speaker 2: think that I don't see anything in their in their

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Speaker 2: investment case that deviates from our ambitions. So I think

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Speaker 2: that's with the announcement of today, I think that we

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Speaker 2: are also connecting few dots with what they are looking

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Speaker 2: and what we are looking, and very well aligned.

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Speaker 1: Have you spoken to them?

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Speaker 2: We are always in contact with all major shareholders in terms.

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Speaker 1: Of valuations, I think that this would mean that an

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Speaker 1: EU bank would match valuations of US banks. Is that possible.

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Speaker 2: Evaluation is not to us to determine shareholders and the

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Speaker 2: market will determine valuations. We will deliver results and the

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Speaker 2: market will put their own view and multiples on.

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Speaker 1: That s What kind of market are you expecting this year? Again,

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Speaker 1: there's quite a lot of volatility, as you know. Markets

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Speaker 1: repri is what the FED does, what a lot of

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Speaker 1: central bank does. What do you think they're getting wrong? Well?

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Speaker 2: I think I think if you ask me, what they're

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Speaker 2: getting wrong is to pretend to know when you don't know.

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Speaker 2: I mean, the truth of the matter is that the

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Speaker 2: uncertainties that we see from many areas, not only the

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Speaker 2: macro more traditional economic indicator, which they seem to be

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Speaker 2: much more volatile and inpredictable that we had in the past,

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Speaker 2: but also the geopolitical situation and also the emotions and

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Speaker 2: the psychological effects on consumers and investors is a factor

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Speaker 2: that is very, very complex to manage. I still remain

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Speaker 2: convinced that the market has been too complacent early on

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Speaker 2: this year about the FED and central bands cutting so rapidly.

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Speaker 2: In the last mile of inflation fights seems to be

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Speaker 2: more challenging, and I do think it's prudent for certain

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Speaker 2: banks to stay focused on fighting inflation because it creates

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Speaker 2: unwanted consequences if we keep inflation way to I compared

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Speaker 2: to the original targets.

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Speaker 1: And so how does that change client behavior?

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Speaker 2: For the moment, we see a little bit of clearly

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Speaker 2: seasonality and there is a concrete hope that rates will

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Speaker 2: come down, but the uncertainty is still there. But we

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Speaker 2: look positively for the first quarter of the year. But

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Speaker 2: you know, we do have to expect still continued volatility

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Speaker 2: in the markets.

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Speaker 1: Morty. Thank you so much for your time today.

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Speaker 2: Thank you