U.S.-Booked
Air Volume: $16M
Consolidated U.S. Agency: Amex GBT
Global travel and
entertainment expenses are rising again for UBS, the bank disclosed in its
fourth quarter results for 2022. The same trend was reflected in its
BTN-estimated U.S.-booked air volume, which climbed from $2 million in 2021 to
$16 million for the full calendar year 2022. That figure remains well short of
its pre-Covid mark of $50 million in 2019.
In its
Sustainability Report 2022, published March 2023, UBS stated that flight
segments booked globally fell from 124,000 in 2020 to 7,000 in 2021 before
climbing again to 40,000 in 2022. Distance traveled for business across all
transport modes dropped from an average 3,749km per full-time employee in 2020
to 227km in 2021, then increased to 1,142km in 2022.
The report also
committed UBS to putting sustainability at the heart of its business travel
program. Carbon-reduction measures introduced to date include actively
promoting videoconferencing and other collaboration tools as a first option;
and focusing on the means and frequency of travel and work to change mindsets
and traveler behaviour. Examples cited were emissions metrics at point of
booking to encourage use of rail over air; and a green flag symbol to indicate
hotels that meet sustainability criteria.
In March 2023, UBS agreed to buy rival Swiss bank Credit
Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs in an emergency rescue deal. The legal merger
is expected to be consummated in 2024. UBS said it is aiming for
post-acquisition cost reductions of $10 billion by 2026.