Swiss parliamentary committee backs fee on UBS for public liquidity backstop

Swiss Committee Endorses Fee on UBS for Public Liquidity Backstop Access

Swiss Parliamentary Committee Supports Liquidity Backstop Fee

ZURICH, Oct 13 (Reuters) - A committee in Switzerland's upper house of parliament on Tuesday backed a government plan to create a public liquidity backstop for systemically important banks that would levy a fee on UBS to access it.

Committee's Recommendations

• The Economic Affairs and Taxation Committee supported charging banks upfront for access to the backstop and said the fee should be limited to systemically important lenders with significant international operations

• Currently, UBS would be the only bank meeting that criterion, it said

Proposed Fee Calculation Base

• The committee also proposed broadening the fee's calculation base to include bail-in debt, collateral pre-positioned at foreign central banks and other long-term funding sources including covered bonds and Pfandbrief notes

Responses from Stakeholders

UBS Reaction

• UBS declined to comment

Swiss Bankers Association's Position

• The Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) said it opposed the upfront fee, arguing it would amount to a special tax on UBS

Reporting Credits

(Reporting by Dave Graham and Oliver Hirt. Editing by Mark Potter)