SNB Says UBS Can Meet Government Capital Demands

ZURICH - In its annual financial stability review the Swiss National Bank said UBS already has enough capital to meet the government's plan for full equity backing of foreign units. The bank has put the extra Common Equity Tier 1 need in the region of $20 billion and called that a threat to its model.

The SNB's line matters because it undercuts the claim that Bern is asking for the impossible. It does not end the political fight. Parliament still has to write a number that can survive lobbying, a referendum threat and a relocation rumour.

A long fuse

Committee work would run through the summer. By 1 September Karin Keller-Sutter was criticising a softer text in Basel.