ZURICH, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Nearly a quarter of Swiss

industrial companies are unhappy with the service from UBS

, notably in lending, since its 2023 Credit Suisse

takeover, a survey found, in a blow to the bank's efforts to

show it is not abusing its market dominance.

UBS has been under close scrutiny since it acquired its main

rival, which collapsed after a series of financial setbacks,

triggering fears that Swiss companies would pay a price for the

enlarged bank's outsize market strength.

The poll by Swissmem, an industry association whose members

include engineering firm ABB, found 23% of respondents

said the quality and conditions of banking services had worsened

in areas such as interest rates, loan pricing and credit limits.

A UBS spokesperson said the bank was in regular contact with

Swissmem and was examining the survey in detail, adding:

"corporate banking is of central importance to UBS".

A Swissmem poll in October last year found only 9% of firms

reported feeling negative effects from UBS' emergency takeover

of Credit Suisse. But 36% feared conditions would get worse.

Of the 231 companies Swissmem surveyed in August this year,

only 2% said banking services had improved, while 68% said there

was no change and 7% gave no answer.

The Swiss competition commission favoured a deeper

investigation into the bank merger, but financial regulator

FINMA said in June it would not conduct further inquiries.

Switzerland's consumer price watchdog has also put UBS under

observation. The authority said it had received complaints in

"double figures" about UBS, mainly over higher interest rates

being charged on loans.

"The adjustment of credit conditions reflects the massive

changes in the economic environment," the UBS spokesperson said,

referring to an increase in borrowing costs since 2022 when

central banks started hiking rates to combat inflation.

The provision of credit by UBS was the biggest problem

highlighted in the Swissmem survey, with 74% of dissatisfied

companies saying conditions had worsened.

UBS last week said it would continue to provide around 350

billion Swiss francs ($415 billion) in loans to its home market,

with its country head saying its commitment was "unwavering."

The leadership of UBS has said that Credit Suisse ran an

unsustainable business model, offering credit on terms that were

too low, which therefore needed to be re-priced.

($1 = 0.8435 Swiss francs)