The fact that UBS is a Swiss bank“is the best possible solution and that's what the chairman of the board Colm Kelleher and I are working on: the rest is nonsense,” the CEO said at JPMorgan Chase & Co's European finance conference, according to Bloomberg's report.“We have never, ever threatened to leave the country: this is absurd,” he added.

+ UBS talked to US treasury secretary about American move

According to a report in the Financial Times, Kelleher had discussed confidentially with United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent the possibility of moving the institution's headquarters to the US.

In the background are the new capital requirements that the Swiss government would like to impose on UBS with the aim of strengthening its foundations and avoiding possible future bailouts in the event of a crisis.

According to estimates published by the government in June, UBS would have to provide itself with $18 billion of additional capital to meet the requirements.

Equity would then have to amount to $26 billion, a level that the bank's top management considers“extreme and disproportionate”.

This content was published on Sep 30, 2025 UBS CEO Ermotti assures the bank never threatened to leave Switzerland amid regulatory debates.