UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti has intensified his pushback against Switzerland’s proposed capital overhaul, warning that the government’s plan risks weakening the country’s only global bank and could force UBS to rethink how — and where — it operates.
Speaking at a finance conference in London on Thursday, Ermotti said the bank is committed to remaining headquartered in Switzerland, but only under a regulatory structure that makes strategic and economic sense.
“We want to be a Swiss bank,” he said when pressed on whether UBS might consider moving its headquarters if the government goes ahead with the capital plan. His answer was pointed: the intention is to stay, but the current framework from Bern is “not acceptable.”
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Under the proposal, Switzerland would require UBS to raise billions more in capital to guard against future crises. The plan emerged from a year-long regulatory rethink following the collapse of Credit Suisse, but Ermotti argued that the burden goes far beyond what is needed to protect financial stability — and would instead erode the bank’s competitiveness at a critical moment.
“They are not going to work for us,” he said of the proposed rules, describing the situation as “quite serious.” He added that the new regulatory push “harmed the competitiveness of the bank and the country,” suggesting that Switzerland risks undermining its own position as one of the world’s most influential financial hubs.
The comments underline a growing tension between UBS and Swiss policymakers. Since rescuing Credit Suisse in March 2023 and absorbing its operations, UBS has taken on enormous complexity, capital requirements, and political scrutiny. But the bank has also repeatedly argued that the government’s response has become overly aggressive, with demands that exceed global standards for systemically important banks.
Ermotti noted that UBS might eventually have to examine “other actions” if the capital rules go forward unchanged — a marked shift from earlier, more cautious critiques. He declined to detail any mitigation strategies but made clear that the bank is thinking beyond short-term negotiations.
Instead, the CEO urged Swiss authorities to shift their focus away from raw capital accumulation and toward practical resolution frameworks — the mechanisms that decide how a bank can be stabilized or wound down in crisis without destabilizing the broader system.
UBS, he stressed, is still aiming for negotiation, not confrontation. The bank remains “hopeful that a reasonable outcome” can be reached with the government.
“Compromise is the ability to really look holistically on how you make the financial system stronger,” Ermotti said.
He added that any solution must balance the interests of UBS, its shareholders, its clients, and “also the country,” signaling that the current draft fails to achieve that balance.
The CEO’s intervention comes as the Swiss government faces increasing pressure to demonstrate that lessons have been learned from Credit Suisse’s downfall. Lawmakers, regulators, and the Swiss public want assurances that no bank will again become “too big to save” — a phrase that has hung over the UBS-Credit Suisse merger since day one.
But Ermotti indicated that Switzerland must strengthen the system without weakening the one bank keeping it globally relevant.