UBS will be able to expand its services for customers in the USA in the future. It has now received the national banking license it has long sought from the relevant US authorities.
March 20, 2026, 2:49 p.mMar 20, 2026, 3:31 p.m
For UBS, this is an important milestone that underlines its long-term commitment to the US market, the major bank said in a statement on social media on Friday. The license will strengthen the banking platform in the USA and improve the major bank’s services for its customers and financial advisors. The major Swiss bank had been trying to obtain a national banking license since last autumn.
The UBS logo.Image: KEYSTONE
Everyday services
According to US officials, UBS’s new status with its national banking license will allow the institution to increasingly offer its US customers “everyday banking services” in the future – such as demand deposits and additional loan products. According to experts, in addition to the “super-rich” clientele, the big bank could also better serve the broader segment of wealthy customers.
Member of the Executive Board and President of UBS Americas, Rob Karofsky, was correspondingly pleased in a video posted online: The license supports UBS’s growth strategy in the USA. It offers the bank “significant opportunities” to strengthen its lending and deposit business as well as increase assets and profitability. “Ultimately, it will strengthen UBS’s entire offering.”
Most recently, US headwinds
However, the major Swiss bank had recently felt headwinds in its US business. In February, it had to report net outflows of 14.1 billion for the Americas region in the fourth quarter of 2025. Overall, the big bank also had around 200 fewer US advisors at the end of 2025 than a year before.
UBS shares showed little reaction to the news from the USA on Friday. In the afternoon, the shares of the big bank were down 1.0 percent in a weak overall market. (dab/awp/sda)