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Cautionary Statement
Regarding Forward
-Looking Statements
|
This document
contains statements
that constitute
“forward-looking statements,”
including but not limited
to management’s outlook for
UBS’s financial performance, statements
relating to the anticipated
effect of transactions and
strategic
initiatives on UBS’s
business and future development and
goals or intentions
to achieve climate,
sustainability and other social
objectives. While
these
forward-
looking statements
represent UBS’s
judgments, expectations
and objectives concerning
the matters described,
a number
of risks, uncertainties
and other
important factors could cause
actual developments and results
to differ materially from
UBS’s expectations. The
Russia–Ukraine war continues to
affect global
markets, exacerbate
global inflation,
and slow global
growth. In
addition, the war
has caused significant
population displacement,
and shortages
of vital
commodities, including energy shortages
and food insecurity, and has
increased the risk of
recession in OECD
economies. The coordinated sanctions
on Russia
and Belarus, and
Russian and Belarusian
entities and nationals,
and the uncertainty
as to whether the
war will widen and
intensify,
may continue to have
significant adverse effects on the market and
macroeconomic conditions, including in ways that cannot be
anticipated. UBS’s acquisition of Credit Suisse has
materially changed our outlook and strategic direction and introduced new operational challenges. The integration of the Credit Suisse entities into the UBS
structure is expected to
take between three to
five years and
presents significant risks, including the
risks that UBS
Group AG may
be unable
to achieve
the cost
reductions and other benefits
contemplated by the transaction.
This creates significantly greater uncertainty
about forward-looking statements. Other factors
that may affect our
performance and ability to
achieve our plans,
outlook and other
objectives also include, but
are not limited
to: (i)
the degree
to which
UBS is
successful in the execution of
its strategic plans, including its
cost reduction and efficiency initiatives and
its ability to manage
its levels of risk-weighted assets
(RWA) and leverage ratio
denominator (LRD), liquidity coverage ratio
and other financial
resources, including changes in
RWA assets and liabilities
arising
from
higher market
volatility and
the size
of the combined
bank; (ii) the
degree to
which UBS
is successful
in implementing
changes to its
businesses to
meet
changing market, regulatory and other conditions, including as a
result of the acquisition of Credit Suisse; (iii) increased inflation and
interest rate volatility in
major markets; (iv) developments in the macroeconomic climate and in the
markets in which UBS operates or
to which it is exposed, including movements in
securities prices or
liquidity, credit spreads, currency exchange rates, deterioration or
slow recovery in
residential and
commercial
real estate
markets,
the effects
of economic conditions,
including increasing
inflationary pressures,
market developments,
increasing geopolitical
tensions, and changes
to national trade
policies on the financial
position or creditworthiness
of UBS’s clients and
counterparties, as well
as on client
sentiment and levels
of activity,
including the
COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken
to manage it, which
have had and may
also continue to have a
significant adverse effect on global and
regional
economic activity, including disruptions to global
supply chains and
labor market displacements; (v) changes
in the availability of
capital and
funding,
including
any adverse changes
in UBS’s credit
spreads and credit ratings
of UBS, Credit
Suisse, sovereign issuers, structured credit products
or credit-related
exposures,
as
well as availability
and cost of
funding to meet requirements for
debt eligible for total
loss-absorbing capacity (TLAC), in
particular in light of
the acquisition of
Credit Suisse; (vi) changes in central bank policies or the implementation of financial legislation and regulation in Switzerland, the US, the UK, the European
Union and other financial centers that have
imposed, or resulted in, or may
do so in the future, more stringent
or entity-specific capital, TLAC, leverage ratio,
net stable funding ratio, liquidity and
funding requirements, heightened operational resilience requirements, incremental tax requirements, additional levies,
limitations on permitted
activities, constraints on remuneration,
constraints on transfers of
capital and liquidity
and sharing of operational
costs across the
Group or other measures,
and the effect these
will or would have
on UBS’s business activities;
(vii) UBS’s ability to
successfully implement resolvability
and
related regulatory
requirements and
the potential need
to make further
changes to the
legal structure
or booking model
of UBS in
response to legal
and
regulatory requirements
and any additional
requirements due
to its acquisition of
Credit Suisse, or
other developments; (viii)
UBS’s ability to
maintain and
improve its systems and
controls for complying with sanctions
in a timely
manner and for the
detection and prevention of money
laundering to meet evolving
regulatory requirements
and expectations,
in particular
in current
geopolitical turmoil;
(ix) the uncertainty
arising from
domestic stresses
in certain
major
economies; (x) changes in UBS’s competitive position, including whether differences in regulatory capital and other requirements among the major financial
centers adversely affect UBS’s ability
to compete in certain lines of business;
(xi) changes in the standards of
conduct applicable to our
businesses that may
result from
new regulations
or new
enforcement
of existing
standards,
including
measures to
impose new
and enhanced
duties when
interacting with
customers and in
the execution and
handling of customer transactions;
(xii) the liability to which
UBS may be
exposed, or possible
constraints or sanctions
that
regulatory authorities might impose on
UBS, due to
litigation, contractual claims and
regulatory investigations, including the potential for
disqualification
from
certain businesses, potentially large
fines or monetary
penalties, or the
loss of licenses
or privileges as
a result of
regulatory or other governmental
sanctions,
as
well as the effect that litigation, regulatory and similar matters have on the
operational risk component of our RWA, including as a result of its acquisition of
Credit Suisse, as well as the amount of capital available for return to
shareholders; (xiii) the effects on
UBS’s business, in particular cross-border
banking, of
sanctions, tax
or regulatory
developments and
of possible
changes in
UBS’s policies
and practices;
(xiv) UBS’s ability
to retain
and attract
the employees
necessary to generate
revenues and to manage,
support and control its
businesses, which may
be affected by competitive
factors;
(xv) changes
in accounting
or
tax standards or policies,
and determinations or interpretations affecting the
recognition of gain or
loss, the valuation
of goodwill, the recognition of
deferred
tax assets and
other matters; (xvi) UBS’s ability
to implement new
technologies and business
methods, including digital services
and technologies,
and ability
to
successfully compete with both existing and new financial service providers, some
of which may not be regulated to the
same extent; (xvii) limitations on the
effectiveness of UBS’s
internal
processes for risk management,
risk control, measurement and modeling,
and of
financial
models
generally;
(xviii) the
occurrence
of operational failures, such as fraud, misconduct, unauthorized trading, financial crime, cyberattacks, data leakage and systems failures, the risk of which is
increased with cyberattack threats from both nation states and non-nation
-state actors targeting financial institutions; (xix) restrictions on the ability of UBS
Group AG to make
payments or distributions, including due to
restrictions on the ability of
its subsidiaries to make
loans or distributions, directly or indirectly,
or, in the case of financial difficulties, due
to the exercise by FINMA
or the regulators of UBS’s
operations in other countries of their
broad statutory powers in
relation to protective measures, restructuring and liquidation proceedings; (xx) the degree to which changes in regulation, capital or
legal structure, financial
results or other factors
may affect UBS’s
ability to maintain its
stated capital
return objective; (xxi) uncertainty over
the scope of
actions that
may be
required
by
UBS, governments and
others for UBS
to achieve goals
relating to climate,
environmental and
social matters, as
well as the evolving
nature of underlying
science and industry and the
possibility of conflict between different governmental
standards and regulatory regimes; (xxii) the ability
of UBS to access
capital
markets; (xxiii) the ability of UBS to successfully recover from a disaster or other business continuity
problem due to a hurricane, flood, earthquake, terrorist
attack, war, conflict (e.g., the Russia–Ukraine war), pandemic, security breach, cyberattack, power loss, telecommunications failure or other natural or man-
made event, including the
ability to function remotely
during long-term disruptions such
as the COVID-19
(coronavirus) pandemic; (xxiv) the level
of success
in
the absorption of
Credit Suisse, in
the integration of
the two groups
and their businesses,
and in the
execution of the
planned
strategy
regarding
cost reduction
and divestment of any non-core assets, the existing assets and liabilities currently
existing in the Credit Suisse Group, the level of resulting impairments
and
write-downs, the effect of
the consummation of the
integration on the
operational results, share price and
credit rating of UBS
– delays,
difficulties,
or failure
in
closing the transaction may
cause market disruption and
challenges for UBS
to maintain business,
contractual and
operational
relationships;
and (xxv)
the
effect
that these or
other factors or
unanticipated events, including media
reports and speculations, may
have on
our reputation
and the
additional
consequences
that
this may have
on our business
and performance. The sequence
in which the
factors above are presented is
not indicative of
their likelihood
of occurrence
or the
potential magnitude of their
consequences. Our business and
financial performance could be affected
by other factors identified
in our past
and future filings
and reports, including those
filed with the US Securities and Exchange
Commission (the SEC). More
detailed information about those
factors is set forth in
documents furnished by UBS and
filings made by UBS
with the SEC, including the
Annual Report on Form 20-F for
the year ended 31 December 2022.
UBS is
not under any
obligation to (and
expressly disclaims any obligation to)
update or alter
its forward-looking statements, whether as
a result of
new information,
future events, or otherwise.