Switzerland's financial regulator wants banks to rethink their payouts for 2019 and to stow capital instead. UBS is unbowed.
Finma boss Mark Branson on Tuesday turned the screws on Swiss banks still intending to deliver on 2019 payout promises, as finews.com reported. UBS, which pays out more than half of its profits to shareholders, isn't listening: it will still pay $0.73 per share to investors, according to «Reuters».
The move is a concession to shareholders who have suffered a languishing share price even before the global coronavirus pandemic. It also snubs Finma's soft power, which is backed by Switzerland's central bank and government. UBS, Switzerland's largest bank, is at the center of a government-backed program to rescue small business.
Billions Out the Door
UBS will ask shareholders later this month to vet the payout at its annual meeting, conducted digitally because of the outbreak. Both Credit Suisse and Julius Baer also plans to hold fast to their respective payout plans, «Reuters» reported.
The stance reflects that all the banks view their capital cushions as ample enough to withstand the fallout from the health crisis. UBS and Credit Suisse have both granted more than 1 billion francs ($1.03 billion) in the initial days of the emergency loan program. The government will need to consider hiking its 20 billion franc rescue package, finance minister Ueli Maurer said.
