UBS, Credit Suisse may need more capital: report

Switzerland has led the global push for tighter banking regulation requiring big banks to hold more capital and meet stricter rules on liquidity after the country had to rescue UBS (UBSN.CH)at the height of the financial crisis.

So far, under Swiss rules, UBS and Credit Suisse must hold up to twice the minimum capital required under Basel II.

Swiss regulators have always said they would look into this "Swiss finish" to international rules once the new Basel III standards requiring banks to hold higher quality capital were agreed upon. A deal is expected later on Sunday.

A spokesman for Credit Suisse said the bank remained committed to being one of the best capitalized banks, that it had anticipated regulatory reforms and expected to meet higher capital requirements through retained earnings.

A spokesman for UBS declined to comment. UBS has a Tier 1 capital ratio of 16.4 percent and CFO John Cryan said at the time of the bank's second-quarter results it was not planning to distribute a dividend while capital strengthening efforts continued.

The NZZ quoted Sarasin analyst Rainer Skierka as saying the banks would not necessarily have to raise fresh capital because the strength of their earnings meant they would be able to generate it themselves.

Credit Suisse said in slides accompanying its second-quarter results that it had a Tier 1 ratio of 16.3 percent and it maintained capacity for continued dividend distribution.

(Reporting by Catherine Bosley; Editing by David Holmes)

($1=1.019 Swiss Franc)

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