The new capital requirements planned by Swiss authorities have not gone down well with UBS, and the prospect of the bank relocating its headquarters abroad is no longer unthinkable.
Is it really possible for UBS to leave Switzerland? “It is,” said Henry Peter, professor of economic law at the University of Geneva and a board member of several banks and insurance firms. He emphasises that the real problem is not what many think – namely, that UBS wants to “blackmail” the government to avoid the crackdown on equity by saying: “If you insist, we will leave”. The central actors are the shareholders, 70–80% of whom are foreign.
“If they have the impression that by going abroad, and they decide this, their investment would be worth more, because it would not be subject to these requirements, they might decide to move. Another option would be to accept a takeover offer. There are certainly banks interested in buying UBS,” Peter told RSI.
The consequences of such a move would be significant. While UBS might lose only a small share of loyal Swiss clients, Switzerland would face the loss of about 15,000 jobs, substantial tax revenues and banking services provided to around a third of the country’s companies, Peter warns.