Goodwill impairments related to the revamp of UBS's investment bank dragged the division to a Sfr2.9bn ($3.1bn) loss for the third quarter, taking the gloss off results that showed revenue increases in almost every business line.

UBS's investment bank this morning reported the pre-tax loss as it announced details of a newly-approved business plan for the unit. Stripping out the impact of impairment losses and "restructuring releases", the division delivered a pre-tax profit of Sfr178m during the third quarter.