Robert McCann, the new chief executive of UBS' Americas wealth management arm, spelled out plans to boost annual pre-tax profits at his division to more than Sfr1bn (€663m), after facing the bank's shareholders for the first time.

McCann was among several top executives from UBS, led by group chief executive Oswald Grübel, to speak at the Swiss bank's investor day in Zurich.The former president of global wealth management at Merrill Lynch joined UBS to run the Americas wealth division late last month.