Shares in Swiss bank UBS hit highest since late 2008

Shares in Swiss bank UBS hit highest since late 2008
Logo of Swiss bank UBS is seen at an office building in Zurich

MILAN (Reuters) – Shares in UBS hit their highest level since October 2008 on Thursday, extending a strong run that has put the Swiss bank well ahead of its European rivals following the takeover in March of its struggling rival Credit Suisse.

UBS rallied more than 6% early in Zurich, set for its biggest one-day gain since March, after the group said it would fully absorb Credit Suisse’s domestic bank and that it was increasing its ambitions for cost savings to over $10 billion.

“Clearly the group remains a construction site in the near term, however we believe this set of results and announcements should give confidence in the mid-term bull case,” said Deutsche Bank analysts in a note.

The stock has risen 36% so far in 2023 against a 13.5% gain for the broader European banking index.

(This story has been refiled to change the dateline to Aug. 31, and not Aug. 30)

(Reporting by Danilo Masoni; Editing by Amanda Cooper and David Goodman)

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