Swiss Senate paves way for direct government action on UBS capital rules

Group 1 - The Swiss Senate has rejected a proposal for parliamentary review of new capital regulations for UBS, allowing the government to proceed with measures that could increase UBS's core capital requirements by approximately $9 billion [1] - The government previously outlined a strategy to minimize UBS's risk exposure, which included a directive to exclude software and deferred tax assets from core capital calculations, potentially raising capital requirements by around $11 billion, with possible reductions of at least $1.8 billion due to threshold modifications [2] - The government plans to implement these changes through ordinance measures, indicating that UBS may need to secure up to $26 billion in additional core capital to mitigate risks related to potential financial crises [3] Group 2 - These regulatory actions are part of a broader effort to strengthen banking regulations in Switzerland following the 2023 collapse of Credit Suisse, which was subsequently acquired by UBS [4] - Following the proposal's introduction, parliamentary committees expressed concerns about the need for a unified review of capital regulations affecting major Swiss banks, but this suggestion was ultimately rejected by the Senate [5]