UBS statement on WAK-S recommendation on banking regulation

Zurich, September 1, 2026 – UBS acknowledges the efforts of the Economic Affairs and Taxation Committee of the Council of States (WAK-S), Switzerland’s upper chamber of parliament, to consider alternatives to the Federal Council’s extreme proposals on banking regulation. The committee has taken important facts and context into account to inform its recommendations.   

UBS supports targeted adjustments to Swiss banking regulation that are internationally aligned, proportionate and address the root causes of the Credit Suisse crisis. This includes aligning Additional Tier 1 (AT1) instruments more closely with international practice, which enhances their loss-absorbing capacity early on in a crisis.   

However, the WAK-S recommendations would lead to a significant increase in costs for UBS. Together with a large set of other regulatory measures, the recommendations would further increase the financing costs for the Swiss financial center and economy in an international environment in which other major financial centers are simplifying and streamlining their regulatory frameworks for banks.  

The recommendations outlined by the WAK-S would require UBS’s parent bank (UBS AG) to fully underpin its investments in foreign subsidiaries, with 50% CET1 capital and up to 50% AT1 capital, up from 45% CET1 capital and 15% AT1 backing under current law. This would represent a substantial tightening of Swiss capital requirements, which are already among the most stringent in the world.   

UBS estimates¹ that the WAK-S recommendations would require it to hold incremental Tier 1 capital of around USD 13bn at UBS AG that could be met with AT1. This would be in addition to the incremental USD 2bn of CET1 capital that UBS AG will need to hold as a result of the changes at ordinance level that the Federal Council announced earlier this year. In addition, UBS AG must hold the previously disclosed CET1 capital of around USD 15bn under existing regulations following its acquisition of Credit Suisse.   

In total, including yesterday’s recommendation by the WAK-S, UBS AG would be required to hold around USD 30bn of incremental Tier 1 capital since the acquisition of Credit Suisse. In parallel, once implemented, the ordinance-level changes announced earlier this year are expected to eliminate USD 4bn of CET1 capital at the Group consolidated level.

UBS Group AG and UBS AG

¹ The estimates in this press release are based on UBS’s balance sheet as of 30 June 2026. The estimates have been calculated assuming that all capital measures are adopted as currently recommended and using an assumed CET1 capital ratio of 12.5% for UBS AG, as previously disclosed.