BERN, May 21 (Reuters) – Switzerland values UBS as a major bank but also has to limit the dangers, Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said on Thursday, adding that taxpayers are not willing to accept the risk of another financial crisis or bank bailout.
Proposed changes for UBS to hold more capital were vital to support the stability of the Swiss banking sector, she said, adding this was “indispensable” for it as a financial centre.
“The population, the economy — everyone here in the room — may expect the government to make every possible effort to ensure a secure, stable framework,” Keller-Sutter said.
“It is clear that all those who benefit from this stability today, but could also endanger it tomorrow, must contribute to maintaining it,” she told a private banking event in Bern.
Philipp Hildebrand, Vice Chairman of BlackRock, which is a shareholder in UBS, echoed the finance minister’s comments.
“It may be that in times of an absolute boom it is somewhat more complicated if one has to hold more capital. But you all know that when things really become unstable, it once again becomes an advantage. And I believe shareholders understand that as well in these times,” Hildebrand said at the event.
(Reporting by Ariane Luthi, writing by John RevillEditing by Tomasz Janowski and Alexander Smith)