UBS chairman says Swiss financial regulator needs more teeth

Kelleher said UBS had so far over-delivered on the bank’s integration of its former rival Credit Suisse but warned that complexities lay ahead. © Keystone / Georgios Kefalas

UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher has called for the Swiss financial industry regulator FINMA to be given more powers after the downfall of Credit Suisse showed the authority lacked sufficient “teeth”.

“People should be looking at giving the regulators more teeth,” Kelleher said at the FT’s Global Banking Summit in London on Tuesday. “It is obvious that in the case of Switzerland, FINMA did not have sufficient teeth at the time.”

“We have to try and help them find that,” he added.

UBS Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti previously said he sees merit in making targeted adjustments to the regulatory framework and thinks Switzerland should consider a more explicit set of senior management responsibilities similar to those in the UK.

Kelleher also provided an update on the bank’s integration of its former rival, saying UBS had so far over-delivered, but that complexities lay ahead.

Although a number of European banks have been caught up in the crisis surrounding troubled property group Signa, which owns scores of high-profile projects and department stores, Kelleher said he is not worried about potential implications for UBS. “That is one exposure that I’m not even concerned about.”

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