Nerves were jangling hard in Europe last year, when the panic that had seen many tens of billions of dollars’ worth of deposits flee large US regional banks in a matter of hours suddenly began emerging in Europe.

The bank’s decision to sell a large minority stake in Credit Suisse’s former China JV to BSAM, a Beijing-based fund it has known for decades, is a setback for Ken Griffin’s Citadel Securities. The US firm is still committed to expanding in China’s troubled market.

John Mathews, head of UHNW Americas for UBS in New York, tells Euromoney why the US’s private banking model is so successful, why the Swiss firm is really in the life counselling business, and explains why it has targeted US ultra-high net worth clients.

The good news is that bank executives don’t see big loan losses ahead; the bad news is that they lack the confidence and vision to invest in the business.

Credit Suisse’s domestic bank was arguably the failed group’s best and strongest division. One year after the rescue, UBS is not the only one trying to feast on its domestic wealth-management and corporate-banking leftovers. Other Swiss and international players also hope to benefit from the longer-term fallout in Switzerland. Will the rush to pick up the remnants of the fallen champion pay off?

UBS’s wealth-management business had already seen enviable performance over the 10 years since it set itself the ambition of being the world’s leading global wealth manager in 2012. But, with the acquisition of Credit Suisse, the last 12 months have seen it take another step forward.

The UBS chief investment office’s sustainable and impact investing strategist wants to avoid measurement for the sake of measurement, but responding to client demand for more data while ensuring its readability remains a challenge.

Chinese fintech Ant Group has offered UBS a reported $250 million for Credit Suisse’s China joint venture, outbidding Citadel Securities. It is a timely reminder that despite its current malaise, Asia’s largest economy is still a great long-term place to invest.

The hard graft of integrating Credit Suisse still lies ahead, leaving UBS as a concept stock and hopeful investors looking through the efforts of the next three years.

A $3.5 billion deal attracts $36 billion of demand, answering the question of whether Swiss banks can return to this market after Credit Suisse's collapse.

UBS's single-dealer platform, UBS Neo, has benefited from a full front-to-back transformation over the last four years, enabling the bank to offer clients access to consistent liquidity provisioning in foreign exchange across products and currency pairs.

UBS is recognised in the FX industry as a leading liquidity provider with a presence in all key trading centres around the globe. It is also the largest global wealth manager, with an unrivalled global footprint when it comes to accessing private clients. This has given UBS a unique opportunity that it has successfully capitalised on.

UBS’s extended coverage across multiple time zones and consistent liquidity provision – even during challenging market conditions – has boosted its market share particularly in emerging-market options.

UBS has invested and innovated in its liquidity offering for the last 20 years – the result is its strong reputation for quality and reliability, particularly during periods of market dislocation.

The release of its new pricing and analytics platform for FX swaps, Neo STIR Analytics, has transformed how UBS engages with clients trading in FX swaps.

UBS is a powerhouse in the FX industry with a strong reputation for liquidity provision.

UBS’s financing business might not have the widest scope in the industry these days, nor does the bank top the debt and equity capital markets league tables, but what it does have is expertise that is unusually well tailored to the times. For its skill in responding to its target clients’ needs, and particularly those of financial institutions, it is our pick as western Europe’s best bank for financing.

A bank’s sustainability strategy cannot exist without high-quality data. UBS has made it its mission to source the best.

Euromoney receives the world's least necessary regulatory communication.

UBS continues to assert its position as the Middle East’s best bank for wealth management. It won this award last year and the one before that – and the one before that. It is active in every important market, continues to expand its reach and innovates intelligently, introducing products tailored to regional clients’ specific needs.

When Credit Suisse is taken over by UBS, it’s likely that the new parent’s appetite for structured private credit will be significantly different to that of the institution it is absorbing. Two banks in particular are waiting for the opportunity that follows.

UBS’s acquisition of Credit Suisse will further reduce the number of large international private banks in Brazil. Julius Baer has been quick to take advantage of this.

UBS will face pressure to spin off Credit Suisse’s Swiss bank and may yet lose more private-banking assets. Coping with this will make managing down illiquid and hard-to-value markets positions look easy.

The two bank’s investment banking franchises look enticingly well-matched. But how much business and how many bankers will still be around after the merger?

As soon as the ink was dry on the agreement to take over Credit Suisse, UBS chairman Colm Kelleher rushed to bring ex-CEO Sergio Ermotti back to run the bank and the deal. Execution risk is off the charts, and the nerves of shareholders, employees and taxpayers are jangling.

Few things are at a greater premium in global markets than a knack for providing visibility, as well as the list of pitfalls to come. This was very much in demand in 2022 when tried-and-true yardsticks like yield spreads and stock valuations were out of sync.

Following up on its recognition last year as Euromoney’s Best bank for wealth management in Western Europe in our Awards for Excellence, UBS is now recognised as the leader in the region for high net-worth individuals.

UBS has long been seen as a leader in discretionary portfolio management.

The echoes of 2014 have been loud in Brazil’s private banking industry over the past 12 months. A precipitous fall in interest rates – followed by a meteoric rise – has left the market completely the same but also very different.

The Credit Suisse deal may have merely accelerated Hamers’ anticipated departure.