A cornerstone of the DLT Draft Law aims at improving legal certainty in connection with the issuance and transfer of tokenized rights and financial instruments, such as bonds and shares. To that effect, the DLT Draft Law provides for the introduction of a new concept of so-called uncertificated register securities (Registerwertrechte) and specific rules in the Code of Obligations for corporations looking to issue shares in tokenized form.

By Stefan Kramer / Urs Meier (Reference: CapLaw-2020-02)

One key element of the DLT Draft Law concerns the question of how crypto-based assets are treated in bankruptcy. When it comes to storing such assets there are basically two options: either the owner of the crypto-based assets stores the tokens him/herself, or the tokens are stored by a third party custodian. Under current Swiss law, it is not clear whether crypto-based assets held by a custodian on behalf of a client will be segregated in bankruptcy. The DLT Draft Law therefore proposes to introduce a new insolvency regime that will allow for such segregation.

By Benedikt Maurenbrecher / Urs Meier (Reference: CapLaw-2020-03)

The Bill on the Federal Act on the Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments of the Distributed Ledgers Technology of 27 November 2019 (the “DLT Bill“) which was sent to parliament addresses among other issues the question of conflicts of laws related to rights recorded on a distributed ledger. Considering the ubiquity of the potential users of a distributed ledger and the difficulty to localize a distributed ledger, which does not present a strong nexus to any given place, this is an absolute necessity. This article aims to present the principles of the amendments to the PILA that are being proposed by the DLT Bill.

By Rashid Bahar (Reference: CapLaw-2020-04)

The purpose of this article is to provide a first analysis of the key features and challenges, which will result from the shift from the current delegation rules under CISA to the new regulations on “delegation” pursuant to FinSA, FinIA and CISA. The new regulatory framework concerning the transfer of tasks to third parties covers a variety of factual and operational circumstances and set-ups. One of the main particularities of the new framework is that it is untested for the newly prudentially supervised entities under FinIA (i.e. trustees and asset managers) and that it will, at least in part, wherever financial services are provided, also impact non-supervised entities. The new rules may have consequences for both Swiss institutions delegating financial services and other tasks and international service providers with whom Swiss financial institutions will conclude delegation schemes.

By François Rayroux (Reference: CapLaw-2019-40)

The Federal Council aims to boost the attractiveness of Switzerland as a domicile for fund production with the proposed introduction of the Limited Qualified Investor Fund (L-QIF). The ongoing consultation period for the L-QIF was initiated on 26 June 2019 and will end on 17 October 2019. The L-QIF is an innovative financial product that may invest in all thinkable investments and will benefit from very flexible investment restrictions. To speed up time-to-market and reduce costs, the L-QIF will neither require a regulatory authorization or product approval nor will it be subject to ongoing supervision by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA. 

By Sandro Abegglen / Luca Bianchi (Reference: CapLaw-2019-41)

On 26 August 2019, the Swiss financial regulator FINMA granted full banking and securities dealer licenses to two new financial institutions focusing on services in the area of crypto currencies and other digital assets. At the same time, FINMA issued new guidance on its interpretation of Swiss anti-money laundering regulation in respect of digital token transfers. The practice adopted by FINMA is very strict, especially in the light of international standards, and will challenge regulated financial services providers, new and old alike, intending to offer services regarding digital assets.

By Daniel Flühmann / Rashid Bahar (Reference: CapLaw-2019-42)

Against the backdrop of the growing number of projects for so-called “stable coins” since mid-2018, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) on 11 September 2019 published new guidelines explaining the regulatory qualification of tokens that are linked to underlying assets such as fiat currency, commodities or securities with the goal to minimise fluctuations in their market value. The new guidelines supplement FINMA’s ICO Guidelines of 16 February 2018, which continue to apply. While the stable coin guidelines are general in nature, their publication coincides with the recent announcement by the Swiss based Libra Association to launch a payment token that is backed by a basket of fiat currencies, a project that has attracted worldwide attention by governments and regulators.

By Martin Peyer / Gadi Winter (Reference: CapLaw-2019-43)

On 26 June 2019, the Federal Council approved the objectives and key figures for a withholding tax reform. The Federal Council wants to strengthen the Swiss debt capital market and to extend the safeguard purpose for Swiss individuals. Interest payments to Swiss entities and foreign investors shall be exempt from withholding tax. For Swiss resident individuals, withholding tax shall also be applied on interest from foreign investments if held through a Swiss paying agent. The consultation draft is expected in autumn 2019.

By Alexandra Hirt (Reference: CapLaw-2019-29)

The theory and practice of corporate governance and capital markets suggest that certain organizational structures of listed companies are to be considered superior to others or even best practice. This article critically reviews the mainstream doctrine and reports on the results of my own empirical research on corporate governance of publicly-traded companies with access to capital markets in Switzerland.

By Valentin Jentsch (Reference: CapLaw-2019-30)