UBS is making a significant push to become a full-service bank for wealthy Americans, following years of relying on other lenders for everyday banking services for its US clients. The Swiss banking giant secured a national banking license in the US earlier this year, enabling it to offer services such as checking and savings accounts, mortgages, and other lending products alongside its existing investment advice. This move is designed to make UBS more competitive with established US players like Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, which have successfully integrated banking operations with wealth management to boost profitability.
To prepare for this expansion, UBS plans to trial these new banking services with its US employees as early as December, to test pricing and products before rolling them out to wealth management clients by mid-2027. This internal rollout is a common practice for banks introducing new consumer products. The bank is targeting affluent clients with $2 million to $10 million in investable assets, a slightly broader segment than its traditional ultra-wealthy base. This strategy aims to capture an estimated $150 billion currently held in deposits by UBS's US households at rival banks like JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley.
The expansion is a key component of the growth strategy for UBS's wealth management co-heads, Iqbal Khan and Rob Karofsky. The Americas wealth management division generated $12.2 billion in revenue last year but was the least profitable region for the bank, with a pre-tax profit margin below 13%. This contrasts sharply with market leader Morgan Stanley, which posted a 29% pre-tax profit margin in its wealth management division. Executives hope that offering a comprehensive suite of banking services will prevent clients from defecting to rivals and improve profitability. Despite facing potential higher capital requirements from the Swiss government for its foreign subsidiaries, UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti has stated that "shrinking is not an option."
The US unit experienced nearly $6 billion in net asset outflows in 2025 and saw the departure of financial advisors due to changes in their compensation model. However, the division has since rebounded, attracting $5.3 billion in net new money in the first quarter of this year. This improvement coincides with a strong start to 2026 for UBS overall, with group net profit attributable to shareholders rising 80% year-over-year to $3.04 billion, and group revenue up 13% to $14.24 billion. Global wealth management alone saw an 11% increase in revenue to $7.1 billion and a 32% rise in pre-tax profit to $1.79 billion, with net new assets of $37.4 billion for the quarter.
