Swiss price regulator puts UBS under observation
Updates with UBS spokesperson in paragraph 5
ZURICH, July 4 (Reuters) -Switzerland's consumer pricing watchdog has put UBS UBSG.S under observation following its takeover of Credit Suisse, the regulator said on Thursday, amid concerns that the market power of the enlarged lender could lead to higher loan charges.
The supervisor had met with financial market regulator FINMA, competition authority ComCo and the Swiss National Bank to discuss consequences of the takeover, it said in a statement.
The meeting laid down the groundwork for necessary cooperation between the different authorities in future, they said.
UBS on Monday said it had completed the merger of its domestic unit with Credit Suisse's operations in its home market.
UBS had no immediate comment on the decision but a spokesperson pointed to previous statements the bank had made noting that there was plenty of competition within the Swiss banking sector.
FINMA last month ruled that the takeover did not create any competition concerns, despite recommendations from ComCo that it merited further scrutiny.
"ComCo's analysis has shown that the merged UBS now has market power or dominance in some markets," the pricing supervisor's office said.
"This means that the price supervisor is directly responsible for monitoring price abuse in these markets," it added.
The supervisor said it was looking in particular at loan interest rates. Swiss businesses have raised concerns that the market power of the enlarged UBS could lead to higher loan costs in future.
"The price supervisor assumes that the merged major bank is aware of its social responsibility and will behave accordingly," the office said.
The office said it hoped that regulatory interventions will not be needed but would not hesitate to act if necessary.
On its website the Swiss price regulator says it is generally responsible for assessing prices where prices have not been formed through free competition, but have been set by a dominant company, a cartel or the state.
Reporting by John Revill; Additional reporting by Oliver Hirt; Editing by Miranda Murray and David Holmes
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
