Swiss bank UBS today reported its strongest quarterly profit in more than three years and its second best annual result ever today, when it said its fourth-quarter net profit rose to SFr1.86 billion ($1.51 billion).
The bank said it was sticking to its 15 per cent return on equity (ROE) target.
UBS said it had benefited from improved markets and from rigorous risk management and tight cost control. It said it plans to reward shareholders by lifting its dividend and stepping up its share buy-back programme.
In 2003, the ROE reached 18.2 per cent, or 20.9 per cent before goodwill amortisationand other significant financial results.
Furthermore, UBS has no exposure to Parmalat SpA's collapse, the bank said.
The bank also rejected allegations made by US lawyer Mr Ed Fagan in a $2.2 billion lawsuit, contesting the bank's role in the ownership of parts of Nazi Germany's chemicals giant IG Farben.
The lawsuit has still not been filed, he noted. UBS is being targeted on the grounds that it is technically the owner of Interhandel, a Swiss company which partly owned some of the US subsidiaries of IG Farben.