BERLIN, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Swiss bank UBS is

considering moving to the United States in response to proposals

from the Swiss government on new capital requirements, the New

York Post reported at the weekend.

Senior UBS executives have met officials in U.S. President

Donald Trump's administration to prepare a strategy shift that

could include the acquisition of a U.S. bank or a merger, the

newspaper cited people close to the matter as saying.

When asked to comment on the report, UBS referred Reuters to

comments made by CEO Sergio Ermotti in the last week.

"We want to continue to operate as a successful global bank

based out of Switzerland," Ermotti told Bloomberg TV on

Thursday, adding that the bank could offer a lot to Swiss and

international clients in that way.

However, he described the Swiss proposals on capital

requirements as punitive and excessive and said the bank would

need to think about how to protect shareholders' and

stakeholders' interests.

"But it's definitely too early to jump on commenting (on)

any potential scenario and what our responses will be," he said

in the interview.

The Swiss government in June proposed stricter rules for UBS

following its takeover of Credit Suisse, which could make it

hold $26 billion more in core capital.

Reuters reported in July that UBS was briefing senior staff

that the need to consider moving its headquarters from

Switzerland had grown since the proposals were made, citing a

source with knowledge of the matter. Another source pointed to

London as a favoured alternative.

(Reporting by Madeline Chambers

Editing by Ros Russell)