UBS says it won’t pay dividends “for some time” to meet new capital rules for risky assets

UBS: No dividends for now to meet new capital rule

GENEVA — Swiss bank UBS AG says it won’t be paying dividends “for some time” as it seeks to bolster its capital reserves to meet new rules designed to protect banks from sudden collapse.

The Zurich-based bank says it plans to satisfy the required core capital ratio under recently agreed Basel III rules by 2013.

UBS Chief Financial Officer John Cryan said in a presentation Thursday the bank expects to be able to reduce its risk-weighted assets to 300 billion Swiss francs ($308 billion) from 400 billion francs before that date.

UBS shares were down 0.5 percent at 16.97 francs ($17.44) on the Zurich exchange.