ZURICH: UBS said Tuesday it would likely complete its takeover of stricken rival Credit Suisse before the end of June, as the bank posted an underwhelming first quarter net profit of $1.0 billion.

All eyes were on what shape Switzerland’s biggest bank is in as it prepares to carry out its rescue merger with its closest domestic competitor.

Analysts polled by the Swiss financial newswire AWP expected UBS’s first quarter net profit to tick in at around $1.7 billion, down from $2.1 billion a year ago.

Net income for the first quarter was reduced by an increase in litigation provisions of $665 million to settle an old dispute linked to the sub-prime crisis in the United States.