A Swiss parliamentary committee has backed a motion that could push some tougher capital rules for UBS into 2028, potentially delaying about 3 billion Swiss francs of proposed measures. The economic affairs and taxation committee approved the motion after the lower chamber passed a similar text in June. The motion asks the government to send all planned banking stability measures to parliament rather than impose some by ordinance, a change that would shift timing. If adopted by both houses, the move would give UBS extra time to meet revised capital requirements that the government estimates could total up to 26 billion Swiss francs.
A second parliamentary committee in Switzerland voted to back a motion that would move parts of the government's banking reform package from ordinance to parliamentary law. The vote followed a June decision by the lower chamber to support the same motion. The committees are now in agreement, but the change still needs final approval in both houses to take effect.
What the change would do
Under the government's plan, some tougher rules were going to be set by ordinance and enforced from 2027. Those measures include stricter valuation rules for items such as software and deferred tax assets. The government estimated the package could require UBS to find as much as $26 billion in additional core capital. It also said the portion delivered by ordinance could total around $3 billion.
Shifting those ordinance items onto the parliamentary track would mean lawmakers must vote them into law. Passage through parliament typically takes longer than issuing an ordinance. That's why moving the measures could delay their entry into force until 2028 at the earliest.
Political dynamics and who backed the motion
The committee margin was narrow. Support came from the Swiss People's Party, the Free Democratic Party and the Green Liberal Party. Those three groups together hold a majority in the lower house. They would still need additional votes to secure the same outcome in the upper chamber.
The motion instructs the federal government to submit the entire stability package to parliament. It removes the option of issuing part of the package as ordinances.
Proponents framed the move as a way for elected representatives to debate major banking changes rather than let the executive make parts of the rules by decree.
UBS has criticised the government's proposals. The bank argues the measures aren't proportionate and could leave it less able to compete with foreign rivals. Government officials and regulators have argued stronger safeguards are needed after the collapse of Credit Suisse in 2023, which resulted in its takeover by UBS.
The Credit Suisse failure sharpened political pressure to overhaul Swiss bank rules. Lawmakers and officials say the overhaul aims to reduce the chance of another systemic shock. The debate has split political parties on how fast and how far to tighten rules for the country's largest bank.
Parliamentary timing matters to UBS. A delay on ordinance items would give the bank more time to comply with new valuation methods and capital tests. Those specific items account for only a slice of the total extra capital the government outlined. But the slice is politically visible. It includes technical but impactful rules on how intangible assets are counted.
Legal and market analysts briefed in public reporting said moving measures into law can also open them to more amendment. That would let parliament tweak technical details that an ordinance would have fixed more quickly. The motion's supporters said that parliamentary scrutiny is appropriate for measures with wide economic consequences.
Opponents in parliament say delaying some measures could leave the system less protected sooner. They argue that ordinances allow faster action when stability risks must be addressed promptly. The final parliamentary debate is scheduled for September, when both chambers will Look at the motion and any amendments.
Swiss parties outside the three that backed the committee motion will determine the outcome in the upper house. Lawmakers who support quicker implementation argue that a 2027 start date would better assure markets and foreign investors that Switzerland tightened rules after the Credit Suisse shock. Lawmakers favouring delay say parliament should own the decisions.
For UBS, the procedural fight matters as much as the technical rules. A later start date and potential changes in parliament could alter the bank's capital planning and how it values certain assets on its balance sheet. For regulators, the debate tests how Switzerland balances speed with democratic oversight when rewriting banking rules after a crisis.
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Parliament will debate the motion in September; both chambers must adopt it for the timing change to take effect.
This article was created with AI assistance.
