The Swiss bank UBS reported a net profit of 1.165 billion Swiss francs ($1.25 billion) for the whole of 2017, weighed down by a writedown in the fourth quarter that related to the new U.S. tax overhaul. The consensus from a Reuters poll was for a figure of 1.257 billion Swiss francs, below the 2016 number of 3.3 billion Swiss francs and below the 2015 figure of 6.2 billion Swiss francs. "2017 was an excellent year for us. We delivered stronger financial results and met our net cost reduction target," Sergio Ermotti, the group's chief executive officer, said in a statement. Speaking to CNBC about the results, Ermotti said the highlight of the year was more clarity on international banking regulation, and the fact that the bank reduced its litigation portfolio further. "We are now in a position to continue and implement our attractive capital return policy, we increased our ordinary dividend and announcing (a) share buyback program," Ermotti told CNBC.

Net profit included a writedown of 2.865 billion Swiss francs in the fourth quarter of deferred tax assets due to the introduction a new tax cuts and the jobs act in the United States. It said that excluding this writedown, net profit would have increased by 26 percent year-over-year.

New dividend

UBS also said on Monday that it would increase its dividend for investors to 0.65 Swiss francs per share — an 8 percent jump from last year. The bank also introduced a three-year share buyback program of up to 2 billion Swiss francs. UBS also achieved its net cost reduction target of 2.1 billion Swiss francs but highlighted that low market volatility could affect client activity in its wealth management business. It also said it was creating a unified global wealth management division. "Wealth creation in the world is set to continue to grow at least twice the GDP (gross domestic product) growth, so around 8 percent a year, and we as a leader, we are well positioned to capture superior growth, which is reflected in our targets," Ermotti told CNBC.