Regulatory

Legal Developments in Financial Market Regulation.

  • Conflicts of Laws on the Distributed Ledger and Negotiable Instruments

    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…

    By

    Rashid Bahar

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    Read more: Conflicts of Laws on the Distributed Ledger and Negotiable Instruments
  • Central Securities Depositaries in the Age of Tokenized Securities

    The distributed ledger technology offers a new way to transfer securities and record their ownership. When fully deployed, it could form the backbone of a new market infrastructure, and could even replace central securities depositaries as we know them today. The Federal Council however raised the possibility that certain distributed ledger infrastructures could be themselves…

    By

    Jacques Iffland

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    Ariel Ben Hattar

    Read more: Central Securities Depositaries in the Age of Tokenized Securities
  • New Delegation Rules under FinSA/FinIA as well as CISA: Impact on supervised and non-supervised entities

    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…

    By

    François Rayroux

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    Read more: New Delegation Rules under FinSA/FinIA as well as CISA: Impact on supervised and non-supervised entities
  • New Limited Qualified Investor Fund (L-QIF) – Innovation and Deregulation as Growth Catalyst for the Fund and Asset Management Industry in Switzerland

    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…

    By

    Sandro Abegglen

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    Luca Bianchi

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    Read more: New Limited Qualified Investor Fund (L-QIF) – Innovation and Deregulation as Growth Catalyst for the Fund and Asset Management Industry in Switzerland
  • FINMA Grants Banking Licenses to New Swiss Crypto Banks, Introduces New Strict AML Rules regarding Payments on Blockchain

    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…

    By

    Daniel Flühmann

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    Rashid Bahar

    Reference:
    Read more: FINMA Grants Banking Licenses to New Swiss Crypto Banks, Introduces New Strict AML Rules regarding Payments on Blockchain
  • Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority Publishes New Guidelines for “Stable Coins”

    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…

    By

    Martin Peyer

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    Gadi Winter

    Reference:
    Read more: Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority Publishes New Guidelines for “Stable Coins”
  • Swiss Withholding Tax – Quo Vadis?

    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…

    By

    Alexandra Hirt

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  • Board Composition and Ownership Structure in Switzerland – The Empirical Evidence

    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…

    By

    Valentin Jentsch

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    Read more: Board Composition and Ownership Structure in Switzerland – The Empirical Evidence
  • Digital Assets – Proposed Amendments to the Legal and Regulatory Framework of Distributed Ledger Technology in Switzerland

    Switzerland targets adjustments of the existing legal and regulatory framework of distributed ledger technology (DLT). The Federal Council initiated consultation on proposed amendments to, inter alia, civil law (including securities law), insolvency law, financial market law, and anti-money laundering regulation on 22 March 2019. This article summarizes the key points of the suggested adjustments and…

    By

    Luca Bianchi

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    Fabio Andreotti

    Reference:
    Read more: Digital Assets – Proposed Amendments to the Legal and Regulatory Framework of Distributed Ledger Technology in Switzerland