UBS reported rising profits for 2021 on Tuesday, but a French tax evasion case cut into the Swiss banking giant’s bottom line.

Net profit rose by 14 per cent to $7.5 billion (€6.6bn) last year, Switzerland’s top bank said in an earnings report.

UBS has been found guilty of concealing serious tax fraud and illegal banking activities in France between 2004 and 2012, when it sent Swiss bankers to court well-heeled French clients.

French prosecutors have said almost €10 billion were shielded from tax officials over that eight-year period.

The bank was originally ordered to pay €4.5 billion in fines and damages in 2019, but a French appeals court slashed the penalty to €1.8 billion in December.

The bank was originally ordered to pay €4.5bn in fines and damages in 2019, but a French appeals court slashed the penalty to €1.8bn in December

UBS, which has appealed the latest ruling, said in its earnings report that it put aside an extra €650 million for litigation last year. The bank had already made provisions of €450 million in connection with the case.