UBS could be seen as being too big for Switzerland following its takeover of Credit Suisse, former Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer said on Saturday, with measures needed to reduce the risks of the enlarged bank.
“If you look at the numbers alone and compare UBS with the Swiss economy, it is too big,” Maurer told newspaper Tages-Anzeiger. “Therefore, the risk must be reduced.”
At around US$1.7 trillion, UBS’s balance sheet is double the size of annual Swiss economic output, giving the bank exceptional weight for a major economy.
Should the bank fail, there are no local rivals left to absorb it, while the cost of nationalisation could severely damage public finances, former government officials have warned.
Reducing risks was primarily the responsibility of shareholders via their choice of board members, Maurer said.
“They must take responsibility, not the taxpayers in the end,” said Maurer, who left office months before the final collapse of Credit Suisse in March 2023.