Two Swiss political parties are backing a proposal that would mean the country's two biggest banks facing far more stringent capital requirements than foreign rivals, Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag reported.
The report comes a week after a key figure from the popular right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) said Switzerland's largest political party would not support plans to tighten regulation, casting doubt on the proposals.
The centrist Christian Democrats (CVP) and liberal Free Democrats (FDP) are, however, supporting the plan that would require UBS and Credit Suisse to have a total capital ratio of 19 percent, the newspaper said, citing the consultative answers from the two parties to a draft.
"We have to disappoint all those who thought that we would just give into the big banks," the newspaper quoted FDP-National Councillor Philipp Mueller as saying on Sunday.
Both parties said that there could be changes depending on the development and implementation of the Basel III rules. Under the rules proposed late last year, UBS and Credit Suisse should hold an equity Tier 1 capital ratio of at least 10 percent, more than the 7 percent minimum set under new Basel III international rules.
They will need to hold a further 9 percent of other capital, which could be contingent convertible (CoCo) bonds, lifting the total capital ratio to a hefty 19 percent.
The government is hoping parliament will approve the regulations this year. UBS Chief Executive Oswald Gruebel has warned in recent weeks that the rules could force Switzerland's biggest bank to move some activities abroad or change its structure.
The new rules were proposed to try to reduce the exposure of the Swiss economy to its huge, global banks and prevent a repeat of the government's bailout of UBS in 2008.
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