Banken: UBS erwägt bei zu strengen Schweizer Regeln offenbar Umzug oder Fusion

Zurich-based UBS, a major Swiss bank, is reportedly considering relocation abroad or a merger with another institution if Swiss homegrown capital requirements prove too stringent, according to insiders. An internal working group is exploring various scenarios, according to three sources familiar with the matter, who spoke to Reuters on Thursday.

These scenarios include compiling a list of smaller US banks for potential takeover or being taken over themselves. However, no concrete talks have taken place. Earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that the group had been preparing contingency plans. The UBS is reportedly forming superior capital requirements as a response to the Credit Suisse collapse in 2023.

The government aims for UBS to fully fund its foreign subsidiaries with hard core capital (CET1), potentially costing over $20 billion. UBS finds this excessive and detrimental to its international competitiveness. The Small Chamber of the Swiss Parliament (Ständerat) reduced the requirement to 90 percent in September, but UBS still considers it too much.

A committee of the National Council, the larger parliamentary chamber, is still dealing with the draft this month. The UBS has secured a US bank license this year and aims to expand in the US. Tighter rules are supposed to reduce the risk to domestic taxpayers in case of losses abroad. Morgan Stanley is seen as the theoretically best partner for UBS.

UBS CEO Colm Kelleher, who once held a leading position at Morgan Stanley, said in September that UBS must think about its future in Switzerland if the rules become too strict. Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter, however, considers the bank's departure from its homeland unlikely, saying it would be legally complicated and costly.