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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 adopted,
would 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 including heightened requirements and
expectations due to its acquisition of the Credit Suisse Group;
(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 increasing
divergence
among
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.
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