UBS: The Bank That Outgrew A Country

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) UBS chair Colm Kelleher was driving back to Zurich from Bern in March 2023 when his phone rang. The Irish banker was heading home after a weekend of tumultuous negotiations that had culminated in a historic $3.25 billion (CHF2.55 billlion) deal to rescue UBS's rival Credit Suisse. Select your language

Generated with artificial intelligence. Listening: UBS: the bank that outgrew a country This content was published on May 18, 2026 - 09:16 15 minutes Simon Foy in London and Mercedes Ruehl in Zurich, Financial Times

On the other end of the line was Jamie Dimon, chief executive of US giant JPMorgan Chase and a veteran of emergency bank takeovers, calling to offer a piece of advice, even as he thanked Kelleher for his contribution in stabilising the global banking system.

Dimon - whom Kelleher knew well from his years atop Wall Street rival Morgan Stanley - had a clear message, according to people briefed on the conversation: do not let the Swiss authorities change the terms of the deal to acquire UBS's traditional adversary.

More than three years later, UBS and the Swiss government remain locked in a stand-off over how much capital it must have to guard against disaster, a dispute that stems from the deal struck on that fateful March Sunday.

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The unusually public confrontation goes to the heart of Switzerland's economic model and the dilemma of whether a small state with nine million people can host a financial behemoth such as UBS, whose $1.6 trillion of assets exceed the size of the entire Swiss economy.

The bank argues that proposals forcing it to have $20 billion more in capital to back its foreign subsidiaries would damage its ability to compete globally. Many of its rivals, especially in the US, are benefiting from a loosening of capital rules.

People inside UBS also intimate that senior politicians gave assurances when they asked it to save Credit Suisse, but rowed back on these commitments after the rescue.

The saga has prompted some investors to urge UBS to loosen its ties to its homeland and consider relocating its headquarters abroad if the capital reforms are not scaled back. It could even end in a divisive national referendum.

While Swiss politicians argue that it is only prudent to protect the public coffers from the risk of bank failure, UBS allies lament the“parochial” mindset adopted by some officials.

“UBS only exists because of its global reach,” says Davide Serra, founder of Algebris Investments, a UBS investor.“It will be highly incentivised to relocate if the reforms are not watered down. It cannot compete with the likes of Morgan Stanley if it needs to have twice as much capital.”

How one crisis led to another

The emergency takeover of Credit Suisse was one of the most dramatic moments in European banking since the 2008 financial crisis, ending more than 150 years of rivalry between the two banks.

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