(MENAFN- Swissinfo) UBS has received a boost in its campaign to water down new capital rules, with Swiss business groups and lawmakers increasingly pushing a compromise amid fears the country risks hobbling its biggest lender and damaging economic growth. This content was published on October 3, 2025 - 09:45 4 minutes Mercedes Ruehl, Financial Times

Politicians and lobbyists, including representatives from the centre-right Radical-Liberal Party, the right-wing Swiss People's Party and the Swiss Bankers Association, are in the early stages of discussing a possible solution under which the Swiss bank would have to raise about $10 billion (CHF8 billion) less than proposed by the federal government, according to two people familiar with the negotiations.

UBS and the finance ministry are not involved in the discussions, they added.

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Under government plans unveiled in June, which aim to bolster financial stability after the Credit Suisse collapse, UBS will have to raise as much as $26 billion in additional capital. The bank, which puts the increase in capital needed closer to $24 billion, has branded the proposals“disproportionate” and“out of touch with reality”.

The counterproposal could involve cutting the additional capital burden to $15 billion or even lower, the people with knowledge of the talks said.

If the government pushes ahead with its current proposal, executives and investors have warned that the lender could be forced to relocate its headquarters. Activist Cevian said last month the government's plans would make Switzerland no longer viable as the UBS's headquarters.

“There is an increasing feeling among some in the business world and some politicians that with all of the shocks Switzerland is experiencing, the environment has changed. Now is not the time to be hurting the interests of the biggest bank, or making it more susceptible to a foreign takeover,” one of the people with knowledge of the compromise discussions said.

Switzerland is grappling with the highest tariff rates in Europe, imposed by the Trump administration in August. Its central bank has revised economic growth downward for 2026, saying the levies of 39% on everything from chocolate to luxury watches present a“major challenge” for its exporters.

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