Swiss banking giant UBS reported on Tuesday better-than-expected net profit for the first quarter, which rose by 17 per cent to $2.1 billion (€1.9bn), buoyed by an upturn in its investment banking division.

The bank’s operating income – the equivalent of revenue – jumped eight per cent compared to the same period a year earlier, to more than $9.3 billion, Switzerland’s biggest bank said in a statement.

Both figures beat expectations of analysts surveyed by Swiss agency AWP, which had pencilled in an average of $1.6 billion in net profit, on operating income of $8.8 billion.

UBS chief executive Ralph Hamers said that the first three months of the year had been “dominated by extraordinary geopolitical and macro events”. But he added in the statement that the bank had “remained focused on executing our strategy, providing stability for our clients and managing risk”.

In corporate banking, the Swiss lender more than doubled pre-tax profit to $929 million after taking a $774-million hit related to the fallout from last year’s collapse of US hedge fund Archegos.

In corporate banking, the Swiss lender more than doubled pre-tax profit to $929m after taking a $774m hit related to the fallout from last year’s collapse of US hedge fund Archegos

However, in the bank’s core wealth management division, pre-tax profit fell by seven per cent to $1.3 billion due to a drop in client transactions, especially in the Asia Pacific region.