UBS Warns Against Big Increase In Capital Requirements

UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher has warned that Switzerland's plan to strengthen capital requirements for large banks could harm the country's status as a financial center, Reuters’ John Revill and Emma Farge reported.

Kelleher said regarding the government's "too-big-to-fail" report that the increase in capital requirements "doesn't make sense." I Photo: Bank Policy Institute

The Swiss government proposed tougher capital requirements earlier this year in response to the collapse of Credit Suisse in 2023, aiming to make the financial sector more resilient.

While Kelleher supports most of the government's 22 recommendations, he expressed strong opposition to the proposed increase in capital requirements in an article for the Swiss newspaper SonntagsBlick.

"I have a big problem with the increase in capital requirements. It just doesn't make sense," Kelleher said regarding the government's "too-big-to-fail" report.

Though exact figures have not yet been released, Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter estimated that UBS might need an additional $15 billion to $25 billion, a figure Kelleher disputes. Analysts at Autonomous Research suggested the figure could be closer to $10 billion to $15 billion.