Swiss parliament weighs deal to ease UBS's $20 billion capital burden

Swiss lawmakers are working on a compromise that could significantly reduce the capital burden facing UBS after its takeover of Credit Suisse, potentially trimming an original requirement of about $20 billion in additional Common Equity Tier 1 capital to roughly $15 billion. The Swiss Federal Council’s reform would require UBS to fully back its foreign subsidiaries with CET1 capital held in Switzerland, reflecting too-big-to-fail concerns after Credit Suisse’s collapse in March 2023 left UBS a larger systemically important bank. The Swiss National Bank still backs the original full-CET1 approach; SNB Vice President Antoine Martin said on August 26 that complete backing is proportional given UBS’s size and systemic role. Parliament is examining two adjustments: allowing Additional Tier 1 bonds to cover up to 50% of the foreign-subsidiary requirement, a change that could cut the pure CET1 impact to as little as $400 million, and lowering the backing ratio from 100% to a 70%–80% range. UBS currently supports foreign participations with about 45% to 60% CET1. The SNB estimates a shortfall of around $9 billion if the reform had applied from January 1 of this year, and roughly $20 billion under full implementation. A key parliamentary vote is scheduled for August 31. UBS shares climbed to 17-year highs in December 2025 on early compromise signals and have since stabilized as final terms remain uncertain. Because CET1 is equity, a stricter outcome could mean retaining more earnings or issuing shares, while wider AT1 use would preserve more flexibility for capital returns to shareholders.

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