Martin: High Capital Levels Not a Disadvantage for Swiss Banks

Swiss National Bank Vice Chairman Antoine Martin said on Wednesday that banks holding high levels of capital are not necessarily at a commercial disadvantage to their rivals. Speaking in Basel, Martin emphasized that robust capital buffers can be beneficial for banks in unstable environments.

Martin pointed out that during the global financial crisis, banks with higher capital levels were able to take advantage of opportunities and buy out struggling rivals. He suggested that this could happen again if there's another downturn, and he would prefer Swiss banks to have robust capital buffers to take market share from foreign banks in trouble.

Swiss lawmakers are currently preparing to discuss tougher capital requirements for UBS, but Martin did not name any specific lenders in his comments. His statements come as a response to the upcoming discussions on bank regulations in Switzerland.