UBS CEO says capital debate will consider competitiveness concerns

ZURICH, June 24 (Reuters) - Swiss lawmakers will consider competitiveness along with financial stability as they draft new capital rules for big banks, UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti said on Wednesday.

"The political process and the parliament will focus with cool heads, less emotions around what needs to be done to achieve financial stability, but also competitiveness," he said, adding that competitiveness was vital for job creation.

"Without competitiveness, we will not maintain Switzerland as a global and vibrant financial centre in the world."

Speaking at the Point Zero Forum in Zurich, Ermotti also addressed how artificial intelligence will change banking, noting UBS already runs hundreds of AI agents and applications.

"Let's be honest - some of the jobs that we have in banking and finance will probably disappear, or you're going to need less people to do the same job," he said.

"If you don't grow as an economy, if you don't grow as an organization, you won't be able to recreate jobs."

(Reporting by Ariane LuthiEditing by Dave Graham)