The “Swiss Finish” that adds a 5% topping to Basel III Tier-1 rules and 9% of contingent capital will require UBS and Credit Suisse to hold capital equal to 19% of risk-weighted assets by 2019. One might have thought that with more than 16% Tier-1 capital ratios, these banks would easily be able to meet any enhanced requirements Swiss authorities might decide to finish up with.

But after Basel III's tougher definition of both capital and risk-weighting, and the extra bits about leverage and liquidity, that will not be the case.