Swiss parliamentary committee backs fee on UBS for public liquidity backstop
UBS•A Swiss parliamentary committee backed an upfront fee for systemically important banks to access a public liquidity backstop, saying it should apply only to lenders with significant international operations. UBS would currently be the only bank meeting that criterion.
1. Committee backs fee
The Economic Affairs and Taxation Committee of Switzerland’s upper house supported charging banks upfront for access to a planned public liquidity backstop. It said the fee should be limited to systemically important lenders with significant international operations, a criterion that currently only UBS meets.
2. Proposed fee base
The committee proposed including bail-in debt, collateral pre-positioned at foreign central banks and other long-term funding sources, including covered bonds and Pfandbrief notes, in the fee calculation. UBS declined to comment, while the Swiss Bankers Association opposed the upfront fee, arguing it would amount to a special tax on UBS.
