UBS and Credit Suisse were probably feeling pretty good, having already raised their capital ratios to levels that won’t be required for another four years. That good feeling has been replaced.

For the third consecutive year, the SNB urged banks to raise their leverage ratios, which refers to the amount of capital they must hold against their assets and is a measure of their ability to withstand adverse scenarios including an escalation of the euro-area debt crisis. This time, the lenders may not have a choice….

The Swiss too-big-to-fail leverage ratio requirements will probably increase towards the U.S.-U.K. level, Andreas Venditti, a Zurich-based analyst at Vontobel Holding AG, said in a note Thursday on the report.

UBS, Credit Suisse Should Build Up Crisis Buffers, SNB Says [Bloomberg]