Jain Global Seeks Regulatory Capital Business

Bobby Jain is launching a new fund led by an ex DE Shaw portfolio manager to invest in bank capital relief trades or SRTs (significant risk transfers), allowing banks to transfer credit risk from their loan portfolios to external investors - it's also known as "RWA optimization". The benefit to the bank is that it reduces the capital it has to hold. Investors receive a premium for absorbing potential losses. "Basel III Endgame" is expected to increase demand for these services.

UBS and Credit Suisse Merger to Close on 31 May 2024

The merger of UBS AG and Credit Suisse AG is expected to complete on 31 May 2024. 

Merger of the US intermediate holding companies and Swiss specific entities is on hold for future quarters pending regulatory approvals. 

UBS made a net profit of 1.8bn USD in Q1 2024 with underlying QoQ revenue growth of 15%. A reduction of USD 16bn in RWA for non-core and legacy was achieved reflecting active unwinds. RWA now stands at 526bn USD. It spent 523m USD on integration expenses in Q1.