UBS restarts share buybacks with program of up to $2 billion

By Adria Calatayud

UBS Group said it plans to repurchase up to $2 billion of its own stock, restarting share buybacks that were put on hold last year due to its acquisition of Credit Suisse.

The Swiss banking giant said Tuesday that the program is due to open on Wednesday and run until April 2026. The group confirmed its expected share repurchases for 2024 will amount to up to $1 billion, as flagged at the time of its fourth-quarter results.

The buyback boosts returns to UBS (UBS) shareholders as it continues to work on the integration of Credit Suisse, which had prevented the bank from splashing out on payouts to the same extent as European peers.

The bank-which raised its 2023 dividend to $0.70 a share from $0.55 a year before alongside its full-year results-said its ambition is for buybacks to exceed its pre-acquisition level by 2026.

UBS said it will begin buying back shares after a merger of its UBS AG and Credit Suisse AG subsidiaries is completed, which is expected to happen by the end of June.

The bank said its share repurchases won't exceed 10% of its share capital. Based on UBS's closing price and exchange rates on March 27, the buyback would amount to 64.1 million shares representing about 1.85% of its capital, it said.

Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com

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04-02-24 0513ET

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