UBS said it expects to swing to a pre-tax profit of at least Sfr2.5bn (€1.7bn) when it reports first-quarter results next month, adding that outflows from wealthy clients are slowing.

The result would be the second quarterly profit in a row for the Swiss bank, which has been struggling to win back the confidence of wealthy customers and investors after a series of losses and a long-running tax evasion spat with the US.