The debate over higher capital requirements for UBS in Switzerland is apparently stoking interest at other major financial centres. As the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing sources, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, under former Prime Minister Keir Starmer, lobbied UBS to move its headquarters and stock listing to London if the bank decides to leave Switzerland.

Reeves floated London as a possible new location for UBS in talks with Chairman Colm Kelleher when she was still finance minister.

Options were discussed for relocating UBS's legal headquarters and stock listing to the UK if the bank were to move its seat to another country. According to the report, the most recent meeting took place earlier this year. Reeves was Chancellor from July 2024 to July 2026, and lost her post with the new Labour government of Andy Burnham.

Would Be Fourth-Largest Company in the FTSE 100

A move by UBS to London would be a significant win for the UK, the FT continued. With a valuation of 129 billion Swiss francs (118 billion British pounds), the bank would be the fourth-largest company in the FTSE 100, behind HSBC, Shell and AstraZeneca.

UBS already has a strong presence in the UK. It employs around 8,000 people there in investment banking, wealth management and asset management.

Relocation Remains a Possibility

UBS has said it still intends to operate from Switzerland. However, Kelleher publicly admitted last month that the bank could reconsider its Swiss base if stricter regulatory requirements were to prove too onerous.

The talks between Reeves and Kelleher also highlight how the Starmer government has sought to attract international companies to the UK since taking office in 2024.

Reeves won praise from the banking industry after sparing the sector from tax increases in last year's budget.