On 15 June 2018, the Federal Act on Financial Institutions was passed into law. The FinIA revises the regulatory architecture for financial institutions. Instead of the current sectorial approach, the FinIA proposes to introduce a regulatory pyramid with a light regulatory framework for asset manager and trustees, and an increasingly more stringent regime for managers of collective assets, securities firms – the new denomination for securities dealers – and, at the top, banks, although they will be continue to be governed by the Federal Act on Banks and Saving Banks of 8 November 1934 (Banking Act, SR 952.0) and remain out of scope of the FinIA. Furthermore, the FinIA introduces several new regulatory regimes: first of all, it subjects portfolio managers and trustees to prudential supervision. Second, it extends the current regime applicable to asset managers of collective investment schemes to asset managers of pension funds. Third, it recasts the existing regime applicable to securities dealers under the Federal Act on Stock Exchanges and Securities Dealing of 24 March 1995 (SESTA, SR 954.0) into a slightly modified new regime for securities firms. Fourth, it amends the Banking Act to introduce a new regulatory status for persons who hold public deposits of a total amount of less than CHF 100 million without engaging in commercial banking by lending the funds on (article 1b Banking Act). Finally, it also amends other regulations, including the Federal Act on Consumer Credits of 23 March 2001 (SR 221.214.1).

By Rashid Bahar (Reference: CapLaw-2018-64)