The Swiss Minister of Finance, Karin Keller-Sutter, spoke on the topic of bank regulation at an event hosted by the news agency «Bloomberg» on Thursday in Zurich.

«We need to find a balance between competitiveness on one side and the protection of the economy on the other,» she stated. «The government is genuinely committed to a competitive financial center.»

Keller-Sutter suggested that Finma should be granted more powers regarding the responsibilities of bank managers («Senior Managers Regime») or the recovery of managerial salaries. She did not clarify the specifics or scope of the stricter capital requirements, including the potential scale of future requirements or whether subsidiaries would need to be fully capitalized.

Capital Rules Still Open

The amount of additional capital that UBS must hold for its foreign entities largely depends on how well the bank prepares for a contingency scenario. «We saw with Credit Suisse that the subsidiaries in the United States and the United Kingdom were not sufficiently capitalized,» she said. How much more capital will be necessary «depends on UBS's resolvability,» Keller-Sutter stated. «One must consider the entire package.»

By the end of the year, the parliamentary inquiry committee (PUK) aims to publish its report on the collapse of Credit Suisse and banking regulation.

Fundamental Reorganization is Not a Good Idea

Keller-Sutter considers the idea of merging Finma and the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to be unwise. While «everything can be discussed,» she emphasized that Finma should focus on building its capacities: «It would be unwise if Finma were to be occupied with a reorganization in the coming years.»

Last week, the Swiss Bankers Association opposed a far-reaching expansion of Finma's powers.