Swiss bank UBS mulls move to US to avoid new rules, reports New York Post

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BERLIN (Reuters) -Swiss bank UBS is considering moving to the United States in response to proposals from the Swiss government on new capital requirements, the New York Post reported at the weekend.

Senior UBS executives have met officials in U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to prepare a strategy shift that could include the acquisition of a U.S. bank or a merger, the newspaper cited people close to the matter as saying.

When asked to comment on the report, UBS referred Reuters to comments made by CEO Sergio Ermotti in the last week.

“We want to continue to operate as a successful global bank based out of Switzerland,” Ermotti told Bloomberg TV on Thursday, adding that the bank could offer a lot to Swiss and international clients in that way.

However, he described the Swiss proposals on capital requirements as punitive and excessive and said the bank would need to think about how to protect shareholders’ and stakeholders’ interests.

“But it’s definitely too early to jump on commenting (on) any potential scenario and what our responses will be,” he said in the interview.

The Swiss government in June proposed stricter rules for UBS following its takeover of Credit Suisse, which could make it hold $26 billion more in core capital.

Reuters reported in July that UBS was briefing senior staff that the need to consider moving its headquarters from Switzerland had grown since the proposals were made, citing a source with knowledge of the matter. Another source pointed to London as a favoured alternative.

(Reporting by Madeline ChambersEditing by Ros Russell)