UBS chairman says Switzerland is having an 'identity crisis'

UBS Chairman Highlights Switzerland's Banking Identity Crisis

By Kane Wu and Selena Li

HONG KONG (Reuters) -UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher on Tuesday said Switzerland is having an "identity crisis" about its role in the world of banking.

Kelleher, speaking at a global financial leaders' investment summit in Hong Kong, said the European country where UBS is headquartered faces competition in the global wealth management market from centres such as Hong Kong and Singapore for the first time.

Switzerland's pharmaceutical industry is also being hollowed out as a result of the tariff talks, he said.

"Switzerland ia facing a crossroads here because it's facing some major challenges," Kelleher said.

His remarks came as the Swiss bank has been examining moving its headquarters from the country since the government proposed new capital rules.

The Swiss government proposed reform measures in June that envisage UBS - as Switzerland's sole remaining global bank, with a balance sheet about double the size of the economy - should capitalise its foreign subsidiaries by 100% rather than 60% currently, to cover potential losses abroad.

Reuters reported in July a review by UBS looking at contingency planning has concluded that London is one of the best options for an alternative location should the bank try and move.

Kelleher said Switzerland is going the other way compared with the U.S. which has effective regulation to let economies grow, criticising regulators for excessive restrictions in the banking sector that were pushing products into the shadow banking sector.

"We are beginning to see huge rating agency arbitrage in the insurance business," Kelleher said, referring to the U.S. insurance market, warning those were what went wrong in the 2007 subprime crisis.

(Reporting by Kane Wu and Selena Li; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Lincoln Feast.)