BASEL, April 15 (Reuters) - Key business decisions may soon become unavoidable, UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher said on Wednesday, turning up the volume on a tense debate about proposed Swiss capital requirements that has triggered growing pressure from markets and shareholders.
New banking rules proposed by the government are a serious risk to UBS's business model while offering little meaningful improvement to financial stability, Kelleher said at the Swiss bank's annual general meeting in Basel, Switzerland.
UBS is an integral part of Switzerland, Kelleher added, but he ruled out shrinking the bank in size and underlined the bank's growth ambitions in Asia and the United States.
"We want to remain headquartered in Switzerland," he said.
"In the meanwhile, it is our duty to evaluate appropriate measures to address, if confirmed, the negative effects of these extreme proposals."
Switzerland is seeking to introduce new capital rules after the demise of lender Credit Suisse in 2023, which was bought by UBS in a state-engineered emergency takeover. The governing Federal Council is due to clarify its capital proposals later this month.
Kelleher reiterated that the extent of UBS's share buybacks depended on Switzerland's future regulatory regime, while thanking CEO Sergio Ermotti for a successful integration of Credit Suisse, which is now in its last mile.
"Sergio will see the integration through to completion and then focus on driving growth and sustainably higher returns," Kelleher said. "He will also lead UBS through this period of regulatory uncertainty."
Reuters reported this week that Ermotti could stay at the helm of the bank well into the second half of 2027 as an obvious internal successor has yet to emerge.
(Reporting by Ariane Luthi, Editing by Miranda Murray and Kim Coghill)
