ZURICH (Reuters) – Switzerland should not set rules for its banking sector that put it at a disadvantage, UBS Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti was quoted as saying on Monday, as the country prepares to overhaul regulation after his bank took over Credit Suisse.
Swiss authorities are expected in the coming weeks to introduce tougher banking rules aimed at preventing a repeat of Credit Suisse's collapse in 2023, which has left UBS as the country's only global bank.
UBS is wary of what might emerge and Ermotti said stricter regulation overall could weaken the Swiss financial sector against competition in London, Hong Kong and Singapore.
“Switzerland cannot afford to fall back into 'model student syndrome' and introduce rules that do not apply in other countries,” Ermotti told Migros-Magazin, the weekly publication of one of Switzerland's leading retailers.
Echoing the findings of a Swiss parliamentary inquiry released in December, Ermotti said Credit Suisse had caused its own demise, and that Swiss authorities had allowed the bank to circumvent existing regulations.
Big banks had learned their lessons from past crises and were today a stabilizing factor, not the problem, he argued.
“Even if UBS had a problem, it would be very unlikely that the taxpayer would lose a franc,” Ermotti said, arguing that his bank had enough reserves to cover any possible losses.
Ermotti said the integration of Credit Suisse into UBS is proceeding smoothly, describing the risk of delays in complex IT migrations as the biggest challenge.
On the delicate subject of salary, Ermotti said he always felt he should be paid in line with competitors and according to his performance, adding that his first ever monthly salary as an apprentice was 350 Swiss francs ($388).
The CEO made 14.4 million francs ($15.96 million) in 2023.
($1 = 0.9020 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Ariane Luthi; Editing by Sharon Singleton)