LUCERNE, Switzerland, April 10 (Reuters) - UBS

Chairman Colm Kelleher on Thursday reiterated the Swiss bank's

intention to repurchase shares to the tune of $3 billion in

2025, despite looming capital rule changes and global

uncertainty.

The bank plans to repurchase $1 billion in shares in the

first half of 2025 and up to an additional $2 billion in the

second half of the year.

"In the absence of any significant, immediate changes to the

current capital regime, we remain committed to returning capital

to our shareholders," he said at the bank's annual general

meeting in Lucerne, Switzerland.

The Swiss government is due to present a proposal on new

capital rules in early June, aimed at strengthening financial

stability and preventing future crises such as the 2023 collapse

of lender Credit Suisse, which was acquired by UBS in an

emergency takeover that year.

While emphasising the bank's Swiss roots and its

"long-standing partnership" with Switzerland, Kelleher cautioned

against stronger Swiss capital rules, calling overregulation "a

very big risk to the long-term success of UBS."

"UBS is already hampered by the existing regulatory

Swiss finish," he said. "Adding another Swiss finish on top -

while other financial centres are easing regulations - would

harm UBS, the Swiss financial centre and the broader economy."

2025 will be a very challenging year for markets, with much

uncertainty, Kelleher added.

"The global macroeconomic and geopolitical environment is

less stable, as we observed over the last week," said UBS CEO

Sergio Ermotti.

The bank was moving towards fully integrating Credit

Suisse while positioning itself for growth, Ermotti added,

particularly in the Asia-Pacific and Americas regions.