UBS comfortable with exposure to private credit funds, CFO says

UBS comfortable with exposure to private credit funds, CFO says

UBS CFO Addresses Private Credit Exposure and Business Outlook

Private Credit Sector Concerns

ZURICH, March 17 (Reuters) - UBS Chief Financial Officer Todd Tuckner said on Tuesday he was comfortable with the Swiss bank's degree of exposure to private credit funds amid market jitters about potential risks lurking in the sector.

Sentiment over private credit has been hit by concerns over valuations and transparency, and cases like the bankruptcy of auto-parts supplier First Brands and car dealership Tricolor.

Tuckner said he was not concerned with where UBS stood.

"I'm comfortable with the level of exposure that we have," Tuckner said, speaking at a Morgan Stanley conference.

Interest Rate Impact on UBS Business

Swiss National Bank's Benchmark Rate

Tuckner was also asked about how the Swiss National Bank's current benchmark interest rate of 0% could impact business.

Cost-Income Ratio Targets

He said it was possible the bank's Swiss business could fall just short of its underlying cost-income ratio target at the end of 2026 because of pressure on net interest income.

He added later that the bank was sticking to its underlying cost-income ratio target for the whole group this year.

Credit Suisse Integration Progress

Client Migration Completion

UBS acquired Credit Suisse in 2023 after its old rival collapsed, and Tuckner said in the coming days the migration of its clients to UBS systems in Switzerland would be concluded.

"That will complete the entirety of the client migrations that we've had from Credit Suisse platforms onto UBS platforms across the globe," Tuckner said.

Final Integration Stage

Decommissioning Credit Suisse Platform

That would allow UBS to undertake the last stage of the integration, decommissioning the entire Credit Suisse platform, a step that would save the bank a lot of money, he added.

(Writing by Dave Graham, Editing by Friederike Heine)