On 29 July 2013, the Federal Supreme Court decided on article 9(2) SESTO-FINMA, one of the provisions whereby FINMA intended to implement the regulation set forth in article 20 SESTA on disclosure duties for substantial positions in companies listed in Switzerland. The Federal Supreme Court ruled that article 9(2) SESTO-FINMA has no legal basis in the SESTA to generally require notifications to the stock exchange and the companies by nominees acquiring or selling equity securities for the account of several beneficial owners that are independent of each other. The consultative draft of the Financial Market Infrastructure Act would provide for an express legal basis for such disclosure, if enacted.

By Benjamin Leisinger (Reference: CapLaw-2014-1)