UBS industry customers increasingly critical, survey finds
By John Revill
ZURICH, Sept 16 (Reuters) -Nearly a quarter of Swiss industrial companies are unhappy with the service from UBS UBSG.S, notably in lending, since its 2023 Credit Suisse takeover, a survey found, in a blow to the bank's efforts to show it is not abusing its market dominance.
UBS has been under close scrutiny since it acquired its main rival, which collapsed after a series of financial setbacks, triggering fears that Swiss companies would pay a price for the enlarged bank's outsize market strength.
The poll by Swissmem, an industry association whose members include engineering firm ABB ABBN.S, found 23% of respondents said the quality and conditions of banking services had worsened in areas such as interest rates, loan pricing and credit limits.
A UBS spokesperson said the bank was in regular contact with Swissmem and was examining the survey in detail, adding: "corporate banking is of central importance to UBS".
A Swissmem poll in October last year found only 9% of firms reported feeling negative effects from UBS' emergency takeover of Credit Suisse. But 36% feared conditions would get worse.
Of the 231 companies Swissmem surveyed in August this year, only 2% said banking services had improved, while 68% said there was no change and 7% gave no answer.
The Swiss competition commission favoured a deeper investigation into the bank merger, but financial regulator FINMA said in June it would not conduct further inquiries.
Switzerland's consumer price watchdog has also put UBS under observation. The authority said it had received complaints in "double figures" about UBS, mainly over higher interest rates being charged on loans.
"The adjustment of credit conditions reflects the massive changes in the economic environment," the UBS spokesperson said, referring to an increase in borrowing costs since 2022 when central banks started hiking rates to combat inflation.
The provision of credit by UBS was the biggest problem highlighted in the Swissmem survey, with 74% of dissatisfied companies saying conditions had worsened.
UBS last week said it would continue to provide around 350 billion Swiss francs ($415 billion) in loans to its home market, with its country head saying its commitment was "unwavering."
The leadership of UBS has said that Credit Suisse ran an unsustainable business model, offering credit on terms that were too low, which therefore needed to be re-priced.
($1 = 0.8435 Swiss francs)
Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Alexander Smith
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.
