Key Takeaways
- UBS Group announced Tuesday that it would be repurchasing up to $2 billion of its shares over the next two years.
- The Swiss financial firm said the first billion of the buybacks would occur following the completion of its merger with rival Credit Suisse, which it expects by the end of this quarter.
- UBS said its goal is for share repurchases to exceed their pre-acquisition level by 2026.
UBS Group AG (UBS) said Tuesday it is launching a new $2 billion stock buyback program over the next two years.
The Zurich-based financial giant said its first buyback of $1 billion would happen after it completes its acquisition of its former Swiss rival Credit Suisse by the end of the second quarter.
The company said its previous stock repurchase program, which it began in 2022, ended March 28. It said it bought back $5.2 billion of stock, or 8.62% of its current registered share capital, as part of that program.
UBS said its goal is for share repurchases to exceed their pre-acquisition level by 2026.
Swiss authorities engineered UBS’s rescue of Credit Suisse in a deal announced in March 2023. The bank had been plagued for years by scandal and financial woes, and was taken over as part of a government effort to prevent contagion throughout the financial system.
UBS shares were little changed at noon ET Tuesday.