FinSA (FIDLEG)

Between 15 May 2024 and 15 July 2024, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA (FINMA) held a public consultation on a new circular on the rules of conduct under the Financial Services Act (FinSA). The circular is expected to enter into force in early 2025. This article outlines and critically evaluates some of the…

Under the Financial Services Act (FinSA), Switzerland has enacted comprehensive rules governing prospectus requirements for public offerings of securities. This article aims to provide a brief overview of the prospectus requirement, focusing on two specific exemptions: Article 37 (1) (g) FinSA for offerings to current or former directors, officers, or employees, and the exemption from…

With the entry into force of the Swiss Financial Services Act (FinSA) as of 1 January 2020, new regulatory duties and requirements for Swiss and foreign financial service providers which are active in Switzerland or serve Swiss clients proactively on a cross-border basis were introduced. However, the practical application of the new law revealed that…

On 1 January 2020, the new Financial Services Act entered into effect. Certain of the transition periods are linked to the licensing of new institutions that perform relevant roles under the Financial Services Act. This article provides for an update on the current status and the end of the transition period. By Benjamin Leisinger (Reference:…

The Swiss financial market regulatory framework has undergone fundamental and comprehensive reforms over the past few years. The main purpose of these reforms is to harmonize Swiss regulations with existing and new EU regulations and to ensure access of Swiss financial institutions to the European market by fulfilling equivalence requirements. The most important parts of…

The entry in force of FinSA and the FinSO has introduced several changes to the regulation of structured products in Switzerland. Some changes appear directly in the specific rules on structured products, but most of them derive from their inclusion in the FinSA’s general framework. This article presents the new regulation of structured products as…

In June 2018 the Swiss Federal Parliament passed the Financial Services Act and the Financial Institutions Act, and on 6 November 2019 the Swiss Federal Council published the implementing ordinances thereto. The acts and the related ordinances will become effective on 1 January 2020. Modeled largely after the EU prospectus framework, the new prospectus regime…

On the way to the new Financial Services Act (FinSA), the final version of the Financial Services Ordinance (FinSO), which was published on 6 November 2019, started the final countdown towards the implementation of these new regulations in the light of their entry into force on 1 January 2020. As of that date, financial services providers must,…

On 1 January 2020 the new Swiss Financial Services Act (FinSA) and its implementing ordinance, the Financial Services Ordinance (FinSO), will come into effect. The Swiss Federal Council announced its decision on the entering into force of the new financial services regulation and the final text of the implementing ordinances on 6 November 2019. There…