18
Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements
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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.
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
evolving armed
conflicts. UBS’s
acquisition of
the Credit
Suisse
Group
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, including those related to litigation, than expected. In response to the failure of
Credit Suisse, Switzerland
has amended its Capital Adequacy Ordinance and is considering changes to its
Banking Act, which, if enacted as proposed,
would substantially increase capital
requirements for
UBS in relation
to its foreign
subsidiaries. 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,
including any potential changes to
banking examination and oversight practices
and standards as a
result of executive branch
orders or staff interpretations of law in
the US; (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,
including as affected by the marketability of additional tier
one debt instruments, to meet
requirements for debt eligible
for total loss-absorbing capacity (TLAC);
(vi) changes in and potential divergence
between 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 regulat
ory 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, including litigation
it has inherited by virtue of
the acquisition of the Credit Suisse Group,
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 the Swiss Financial
Market Supervisory Authority (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 2025. 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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