Swiss govt to impose tougher requirements for UBS, Credit Suisse

The Swiss government said on Wednesday it will lay out tougher capital requirements for UBS and Credit Suisse by year-end, in order to protect against a renewed crisis.

Lawmakers and regulators are trying to ensure banks are not so big and interconnected that they would need rescuing with taxpayer cash if they hit trouble.

After several banks, including Zurich-based UBS, were bailed out in the 2007-09 financial crisis, solving "too big to fail" has been a priority of regulators in the United States and Europe.

"Additional measures and adjustments are required to boost the resilience of systemically important banks further and to make their restructuring or orderly resolution possible without taxpayers incurring any costs," the Swiss government said in a statement.

The amendments to Switzerland's existing too-big-to-fail law, to be prepared in consultation with the Swiss regulator, Switzerland's central bank, and the banks themselves, should be submitted by year-end, the government said.