Swiss financial regulator says it will focus 'very strongly' on UBS -report

ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland's financial market regulator will focus "very strongly" on UBS after the bank's takeover of fallen rival Credit Suisse, FINMA's Chair said in an interview published on Friday.

"It goes without saying that we are now focusing very strongly on UBS," Marlene Amstad, head of the Financial Market Supervisory Authority, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

"Internally, we have reorganized ourselves and increased the UBS team to around 60 people. Where the risks are high, we are looking more frequently and in greater depth."

FINMA has come under fire for not taking enough action to prevent the crash of Credit Suisse last year, a situation which led to the UBS takeover.

The enlarged UBS, with a balance sheet of more than $1.6 trillion, has triggered concerns about its dominant position in Switzerland, while some investors fear it could have too much influence on future banking regulation or face frequent clashes with regulators.

In the interview, Amstad defended FINMA's role amid the Credit Suisse crash, and repeated her call for extra powers in the future.

FINMA wants the right to impose fines on errant bankers, and also intervene in the pay policies of banks.

"We think it's sensible to change the laws... so that we can intervene in the remuneration systems if necessary - for example, by making bonuses more directly dependent on a financial institution's business success and long-term risk-bearing capacity," she said.

FINMA also wants a so-called senior manager regime, under which the roles and responsibilities of executives are defined so it is easier to establish who is accountable.

"If a breach of rules then occurs, it is clearer who is to be held accountable," Amstad said. "This has a preventative effect because managers act more cautiously out of their own interest. And it makes it easier for us to provide evidence."

(Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Kim Coghill)