Foreign banks have expressed UBS merger interest, Swiss newspaper reports

ZURICH, Sept 27 (Reuters) - ‌Several major ​foreign ​banks have expressed their interest in a possible merger or combination ‌with Switzerland's UBS, a Swiss newspaper said ⁠on Sunday.

At least eight banks have signalled interest ‌to UBS, Blick reported, ‌citing an insider with knowledge of the matter.

UBS, which was not immediately available ​for comment, was dealt a blow when Switzerland's upper house voted on Wednesday ⁠in favour of tougher capital rules that the bank estimates ​could require it to hold about $18 billion in additional capital.

Ahead of the ​vote, chairman Colm Kelleher ‌warned that UBS could rethink its Swiss base if capital rules ⁠were too harsh.

On Friday, Semafor reported that UBS management had revived discussions on ways to ⁠reduce its exposure to Swiss regulation, including through a ​possible combination with a foreign bank, citing people familiar with the matter.

Switzerland's finance minister, Karin Keller-Sutter, ‌said at the weekend it was unlikely that UBS would leave ‌its Swiss base as it would be ⁠more expensive than ‌the new capital ​rules and legally complicated.

(Reporting by Marleen Kaesebier in Zurich; Editing by Alexander ‌Smith)

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