(Sharecast News) - UBS's chair has hit out at the Swiss government's stricter capital rules, saying that hurt the country's financial competitiveness, and warned that the company may need to make tough business decisions to address the additional requirements.
At an annual general meeting in Basel, Colm Kelleher said that the new capital rules proposed by the Federal Council would make the Swiss bank an "international outlier and weaken us compared to our competitors".

It is estimated that that UBS AG would need to hold more than $20bn in additional capital buffers under the Swiss government's new proposals, designed to address 'too big to fail' concerns.

"It is our duty to evaluate appropriate measures to address, if confirmed, the negative effects of these extreme proposals in order to minimise the impact on our shareholders, clients, employees and the communities in which we operate. Against this backdrop, and amid growing pressure from markets and many of you, our shareholders, key business decisions may soon become unavoidable," he said.

Kelleher argued that, since the financial crisis in 2008, the bank has massively cut its balance sheet - despite the merger with Credit Suisse - reducing its risk profile and focused on more stable and low-risk business areas.

The chair reiterated the bank's desire to remain headquartered in Switzerland, but said that competition from other financial centres - such as Singapore and Hong Kong - is "intensifying", particularly in areas where Switzerland has been strong, such as cross-border wealth management.

He called for the Swiss government to adopt "smart, internationally aligned regulation that bolsters rather than blunts competitiveness".

"Yet, in financial services, the Federal Council's proposals are moving Switzerland in the opposite direction. And they have little to do with addressing the root causes of the Credit Suisse issues [...] We are looking for a solution that preserves a competitive, successful and prosperous Swiss financial center based on strong capitalisation."

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