19
Cautionary statement
regarding forward-looking statements
|
This document contains
statements that
constitute “forward-looking
statements”, including
but not limited to management’s outlook for
UBS’s financial performance, statements relating to the anticipated effect
of transactions and strategic initiatives
on UBS’s
business and future
development and goals
or intentions to
achieve climate, sustainability
and other social
objectives. While these
forward-looking
statements represent
UBS’s judgments,
expectations and
objectives concerning the
matters described,
a number
of risks,
uncertainties and
other important
factors could cause actual
developments and results to
differ materially from UBS’s expectations.
In particular, the global economy may suffer
significant adverse
effects from increasing political tensions between world
powers, changes to international
trade policies, including those related
to tariffs and trade barriers, and
ongoing conflicts
in the Middle
East, as well
as the continuing
Russia–Ukraine war. UBS’s
acquisition of the
Credit Suisse
Group has materially
changed its
outlook
and strategic direction and introduced
new operational challenges. The integration of the
Credit Suisse entities into the
UBS structure is expected to
continue
through 2026 and presents significant
operational and execution risk, including the
risks that UBS may be
unable to achieve the cost
reductions and business
benefits contemplated by
the transaction, that
it may incur
higher costs to
execute the integration
of Credit Suisse
and that the
acquired business may
have
greater risks
or liabilities
than expected.
Following the
failure of
Credit Suisse,
Switzerland is
considering significant
changes to
its capital,
resolution and
regulatory
regime, which,
if proposed
and adopted,
may significantly
increase our
capital requirements
or impose
other costs
on UBS.
These factors
create greater
uncertainty
about forward-looking statements. Other factors that may affect UBS’s
performance and ability to achieve its plans, outlook and
other objectives also include,
but are not limited to: (i) the degree to which UBS
is successful in the execution of its
strategic plans, including its cost reduction
and efficiency initiatives and its
ability to manage its levels of risk-weighted assets (RWA) and leverage ratio denominator (LRD), liquidity coverage ratio and other financial resources, including
changes in
RWA assets
and liabilities arising
from higher
market volatility and
the size
of the
combined Group;
(ii) the
degree to
which UBS
is successful
in
implementing changes to its businesses to meet changing market, regulatory and other conditions; (iii) inflation
and interest rate volatility in major markets; (iv)
developments in the macroeconomic climate
and in the
markets in which UBS
operates or to
which it is exposed,
including movements in securities prices
or
liquidity, credit
spreads, currency exchange rates,
residential and commercial real
estate markets, general economic conditions, and
changes to national trade
policies on the financial position or creditworthiness of
UBS’s clients and counterparties, as well as on client
sentiment and levels of activity; (v) changes in
the
availability of capital and funding, including any adverse changes in UBS’s credit spreads and credit ratings of UBS, as well as availability and cost of funding to
meet requirements for debt
eligible for total loss-absorbing capacity (TLAC);
(vi) changes in central
bank policies or the implementation of
financial legislation
and regulation in Switzerland, the US, the UK, the EU and other financial centers that have
imposed, or resulted in, or may do so in the
future, more stringent
or entity-specific
capital, TLAC,
leverage ratio,
net stable
funding ratio,
liquidity and
funding requirements,
heightened operational
resilience requirements,
incremental tax requirements, additional levies, limitations on
permitted activities, constraints on remuneration, constraints on transfers of capital and
liquidity
and sharing of operational costs across
the Group or other measures,
and the effect these will
or would have on UBS’s
business activities; (vii) UBS’s ability to
successfully implement resolvability
and related regulatory requirements and
the potential need to
make further changes to
the legal structure or booking
model
of UBS in
response to legal
and regulatory requirements
and any additional
requirements due to
its acquisition
of the Credit
Suisse Group, or
other developments;
(viii) UBS’s ability
to maintain and
improve its systems
and controls for
complying with sanctions
in a
timely manner and
for the detection
and prevention of
money laundering to meet evolving regulatory requirements
and expectations, in particular in the
current geopolitical turmoil; (ix) the uncertainty arising
from
domestic stresses
in certain
major economies;
(x) changes
in UBS’s
competitive position,
including whether
differences in
regulatory capital
and other
requirements
among the major financial centers adversely affect UBS’s
ability to compete in certain lines of business; (xi) changes
in the standards of conduct applicable to its
businesses that
may result
from new
regulations or
new enforcement
of existing
standards, including
measures to
impose new
and enhanced
duties when
interacting with customers and in
the execution and handling of
customer transactions; (xii) the
liability to which UBS may
be exposed, or possible constraints
or
sanctions
that
regulatory
authorities
might
impose
on
UBS,
due
to
litigation,
contractual
claims
and
regulatory
investigations,
including
the
potential
for
disqualification from
certain businesses,
potentially large
fines or
monetary penalties,
or the
loss of
licenses or
privileges as
a
result of
regulatory or
other
governmental sanctions, as well
as the effect that litigation, regulatory
and similar matters have on
the operational risk component
of its RWA; (xiii) UBS’s ability
to retain and attract the
employees necessary to generate revenues and to manage,
support and control its businesses, which may
be affected by competitive
factors; (xiv) changes in accounting or tax standards or policies, and determinations or interpretations affecting the recognition of gain or loss, the valuation of
goodwill, the recognition
of deferred tax
assets and other
matters; (xv) UBS’s
ability to
implement new technologies and
business methods, including
digital
services, artificial intelligence and other technologies, and ability to successfully compete with both existing and new financial service providers, some of which
may not be regulated to the same extent; (xvi) limitations on the effectiveness of UBS’s internal processes for risk management, risk control, measurement and
modeling, and
of
financial models
generally; (xvii)
the occurrence
of operational
failures, such
as fraud,
misconduct, unauthorized
trading, financial
crime,
cyberattacks, data leakage and systems failures, the risk of which is increased with persistently high levels of cyberattack
threats; (xviii) restrictions on the ability
of UBS Group AG, UBS AG and regulated
subsidiaries of UBS AG to make
payments or distributions, including
due to restrictions on the ability of
its subsidiaries
to make loans or distributions, directly or indirectly, or, in the case of financial difficulties, due to the exercise by FINMA or the regulators of UBS’s operations in
other countries of their broad statutory powers in relation to protective measures, restructuring and liquidation proceedings; (xix) the degree to which changes
in regulation, capital or
legal structure, financial results
or other factors may
affect UBS’s ability to
maintain its stated capital
return objective; (xx) uncertainty
over the scope of actions that may be required by UBS, governments and others for UBS to achieve goals relating to climate, environmental and social matters,
as well as the
evolving nature of
underlying science
and industry and
the possibility of
conflict between different
governmental standards
and regulatory regimes;
(xxi) the ability
of UBS to
access capital markets;
(xxii) the ability
of UBS to
successfully recover from
a disaster or
other business continuity problem
due to a
hurricane, flood, earthquake, terrorist attack, war,
conflict, pandemic, security breach, cyberattack, power loss, telecommunications failure or
other natural or
man-made event; and (xxiii) the effect that these or other factors or unanticipated
events, including media reports and speculations, may have on its reputation
and the additional consequences
that this may have on
its business and performance.
The sequence in which the factors
above are presented is not indicative
of
their likelihood of occurrence
or the potential magnitude
of their consequences. UBS’s
business and financial performance could
be affected by
other factors
identified in its past and future filings and reports, including those filed with the US
Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). More detailed information
about those factors is set forth in
documents furnished by
UBS and filings made by UBS
with the SEC, including the
UBS Group AG and UBS AG Annual
Reports
on Form 20-F for the year ended 31 December 2024. UBS is not under any obligation to (and expressly disclaims any obligation to) update or alter its forward-
looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise.
© UBS 2025. The key symbol and UBS are among
the registered and unregistered trademarks of UBS. All rights
reserved