Q1: Reflecting on 2025, what were your bank’s major milestones from an operational perspective, and how did you achieve them? Conversely, what were the setbacks and challenges encountered along the way, and what measures were taken to surmount them? How have those lessons shaped your 2026 strategy? 

In 2025, Asia Pacific delivered strong operational progress built on the successful consolidation of our platforms following the Credit Suisse client migration in 2024. Integration continued at pace in some domestic markets, such as Australia, China, Japan, and India. This was the region’s first full year operating largely under one unified structure, which significantly improved efficiency and strengthened collaboration across teams. As a result, APAC achieved 47% full-year pre-tax profit growth with our total invested assets surpassing US$1 trillion, supported by stronger client engagement across key hubs such as Singapore and Hong Kong. 

Our ability to scale effectively was further enhanced by investments in our digital capabilities and talent. Since establishing the first UBS AI & Transformation Factory in Singapore, we launched four more factories globally, including Hong Kong and India, last year. The AI & Transformation Factories serve as hubs for developing and deploying our transformational AI initiatives across the regions. In 2025, we piloted UBS’s first multi-agency AI solution focused on periodic KYC reviews and source-of-wealth corroboration in Hong Kong and Singapore. Designed to enhance advisor productivity and increase client-facing time, the multi-agentic solution exemplifies UBS’s commitment to leveraging AI for operational excellence and client-centric innovation.

The integration-related complexity required disciplined resource management. We mitigated these pressures by strengthening partnerships and simplifying front-to-back processes to maintain stability through the transition. These learnings shape our strategy and provide valuable lessons for scaling AI-enabled productivity and embedding operational efficiency.

Q2: As private banks invest in upgrading their KYC systems and scaling AI capabilities, how are you addressing the operational challenges of integrating these technologies while driving measurable KPIs in revenue growth and delivering hyper-personalised client experiences? 

Across the firm, we are now transitioning from initial rollouts and AI tool deployments to a capability-driven AI operating model. This means shifting from fragmented, local use cases toward a globally coherent portfolio of capabilities that scale efficiently across regions. Common industry challenges include fragmented legacy platforms, processes, and people.

We are embedding AI into real client and advisor workflows globally, safely. We are redesigning end-to-end client and advisor workflows, embedding AI rather than layering it on top of existing processes. At our UBS AI & Transformation Factories, we have co-located teams of experts to co-create client-centric solutions. We embed our key stakeholders, like technology, risk and compliance, from the outset, involving them in agile execution and jointly defining the success metrics. We are reducing fragmentation by aligning teams around a shared global roadmap, built on common data, platforms, and AI capabilities, enabling global reuse with local flexibility. 

Our clients are also engaged in designing their digital client experience. For example, our integrated UBS Mobile Banking and Circle One app was co-created with 100 pilot clients across Singapore and Hong Kong last year, with many clients citing their appreciation for the unified platform.

Q3: The cost-to-income ratio is a key metric for assessing bank performance. How is the bank maintaining efficiency and competitiveness in the region?

In APAC, the bank is improving efficiency and strengthening competitiveness by combining integration synergies, disciplined cost management, and strategic investments that enhance scale and client engagement.

For Global Wealth Management, our APAC cost-to-income ratio for the quarter ending December 2025 decreased to 64.9% from 67.5% vs the previous year, while the pre-tax profit was up 24%. 

Our strong growth and profitability in APAC reflect our status as the largest wealth manager in the world’s fastest-growing market. Building on this, we are reinforcing our strongholds in Singapore and Hong Kong while increasing our scale in key growth markets in Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Japan, India and Australia. Across the region, we aim to expand the share of wallet, accelerate strategic partnerships, build on our feeder channels, and hire more client advisors.

With the integration nearly complete, we are applying a One Bank approach to our entire operation, redesigning front-to-back-end processes and accelerating investments in technology and AI. 

Q4: With regulatory requirements continually evolving, private banks are reassessing their compliance systems and processes. From an operational perspective, what are the biggest challenges you face in meeting these requirements, and how is the bank tackling them to maintain both efficiency and client trust? 

Our primary focus has been on creating a more streamlined, high-quality operating environment that enables our teams to respond to regulatory changes with confidence. Over the past year, we undertook a comprehensive simplification of key processes across onboarding, KYC, and lifecycle reviews. This meant tightening handoffs, removing duplicative steps, and embedding clearer roles and responsibilities across every function involved. The result is a more predictable, better-controlled process with less friction for both our teams and clients.

A second priority has been strengthening the support infrastructure that underpins regulatory delivery, including AI-powered solutions and deeper expertise to support the front office in review processes. For example, our first multi-agentic AI solution launched last year in Asia significantly reduces time and manual effort in periodic KYC reviews and Source of Wealth verification, while improving accuracy in the complex process. All these efforts have enhanced the overall risk assurance while materially improving the client and advisor experience.

As our business and the marketplace digitalise and adopt new technologies, we are seeing increasing regulatory and client expectations for the responsible use of AI and digital assets. We are at the forefront, working closely with regulators and industry groups to address the challenges posed by these developments. UBS has dedicated AI governance bodies to ensure AI is integrated responsibly into the firm while meeting all risk, regulatory, compliance, and internal policy requirements.