UBS first quarter profit beats forecasts

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UBS lost a total of 2.2bn Swiss francs in 2012

Swiss bank UBS returned to profit in the first three months of the year, after racking up big losses at the end of 2012, related to the Libor scandal.

Net profits for January to March were 988m Swiss francs ($1.05bn; £678m), the bank said in a statement.

That was down about 5% compared with the same period a year ago, but above many analysts' expectations.

Last year, UBS was among several banks fined by regulators for attempting to manipulate the Libor rate.

It lost 1.9bn Swiss francs in the last quarter of 2012, and 2.2bn Swiss francs for the year as a whole. That included a 1.4bn-Swiss franc fine related to the Libor scandal.

Speaking to UK MPs earlier this year, UBS's investment bank chief Andrea Orcel said the bank had to work to recover its "honour" following the scandal.

The bank is also going through a significant restructuring of its business.

In a statement accompanying the results, chief executive Sergio Ermotti said that "while it is too early to declare victory, we have shown our business model works in practice".

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