Swiss bank UBS Tuesday reported a first quarter pre-tax profit of 2.8 billion Swiss francs, led by its investment banking and wealth management divisions.

The firm’s investment bank recorded a pre-tax profit of CHF1.2 billion in the first quarter, compared with CHF297 million in the prior quarter. The jump in the division’s results was largely due to a strong performance in the fixed income, currencies and commodities business, which saw its revenues rise to CHF2.2 billion from CHF496 million. Equities revenues increased 32%, while investment banking revenues decreased 19%.

Pre-tax profits in the wealth management & Swiss bank division was up 5% to CHF1.16 billion in the first quarter from CHF1.1 billion in the fourth quarter. Wealth Management Americas saw its profits fall to CHF 15 million in the first quarter compared with CHF 178 million in the prior quarter. In the first quarter, results included an increase in financial advisor deferred compensation awards and the introduction of a new compensation program for financial advisors, along with increased charges from the corporate center and restructuring charges related to staff reductions.

Finally, global asset management’s pre-tax profit was CHF 137 million in the first quarter compared with CHF 284 million in the fourth quarter due to lower income and higher personnel expenses.

Looking ahead, UBS said it “expects securities trading markets activity in the second quarter to be generally in line with the first quarter, although concerns relating to European sovereign debt provide a basis for some market uncertainty.”

“Banking markets should however continue their recovery, benefiting UBS’s lending and financial advisory businesses,” it says, and it expects operational improvements implemented last year to have a positive effect on its results, including in wealth management and asset management.

IE