BASEL, Switzerland (Reuters) -UBS executives on Wednesday told shareholders that the bank has major concerns about the Swiss government's recently announced plan to hit the country's largest lender with tougher capital requirements. Switzerland's government laid out plans two weeks ago for how to police banks deemed "too big to fail" to shield the country from a repeat of the collapse of Credit Suisse. "We are seriously concerned about some of the discussions related to additional capital requirements," UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher said at the bank's annual general meeting in Basel.
UBS could take years to feel the bite of new regulations after the Swiss government set out plans aimed at keeping the "monster bank" in line that were light on detail and heralded a tortuous political process to enshrine them in law. Shares in the Zurich-based lender took a knock on Wednesday after the finance ministry said its "too big to fail" recommendations envisaged tougher capital requirements for UBS and other systemically important banks following the rescue of its stricken rival Credit Suisse in 2023. "The measures proposed by the Federal Council are not enough to finally regulate the banking sector effectively," said Cedric Wermuth, co-leader of the centre-left Social Democrats (SP), the second-biggest party in the Swiss parliament.