Regulatory

Recent years have seen regulatory institutions around the world introduce mandatory corporate disclosure regimes related to climate and environmental, social and governance (“ESG“) matters, largely as a response to the increasing materialization of ESG risks, in particular global heating and climate-driven natural catastrophes, as well as the growing awareness of the importance of full and…

As the second batch of regulations concerning distributed ledger technology (DLT) just entered into force on 1 August 2021, this article highlights some of the key changes made to the Blanket Ordinance in the Area of Blockchain (Mantelverordnung im Bereich Blockchain) between the draft subject to consultation on 19 October 2020 and the final version…

As of 1 July 2021, SIX Exchange Regulation Ltd (SER), the supervisory authority for issuers listed at SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX), revises the rules on ad hoc publicity in the Listing Rules (LR) and the Directive on Ad hoc Publicity (DAH). While the changes might not seem substantial at first, some details of the revised…

The Swiss Federal Council proposes the abolition of withholding tax on bond interest in its dispatch. The proposed abolition will make it easier for companies to issue their bonds from Switzerland. There is also a chance that intra-group financing activities will increase in Switzerland. By Stefan Oesterhelt / Philippe Gobet (Reference: CapLaw-2021-35)

As of 1 January 2021, the legal framework governing the commercial register in Switzerland has been modernized. The new rules primarily comprise amendments to the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO, article 927 et seq.) and to the Commercial Register Ordinance (CRO). The author highlights the key changes that the new rules did—and did not—bring about. By Daniel…

In its efforts to adapt the Swiss legal framework to take into account business activities that rely on Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), the Federal Council recently published the draft blanket ordinance in the area of blockchain. The purpose of this article is to highlight some of the most salient features of the proposed provisions, focusing…

On 29 November 2020, the initiative on responsible enterprises failed. The initiative provided, among others, liability of Swiss enterprises for their subsidiaries abroad who have breached human rights or environmental standards. As a result, the parliament’s indirect counterproposal will likely enter into force (subject to a potential popular referendum). The indirect counterproposal provides for (i)…

On 16 November 2020, the Swiss financial markets regulator FINMA published details of the partial revision of circular 2016/7 on video and online identification. The notable changes relate to the use of biometric passport data and a clarification regarding the engagement of specialized third party service providers for remote client identification. The consultation period for…

Climate (as well as other ESG topics) is high up on the agenda since countless years, including for financial institutions, and has now also reached the average investor’s attention and Swiss financial market regulation. In addition to long-established voluntary standards and private initiatives, FINMA plans to revise its circulars on public disclosure for climate-related financial…