B-04-57 FINMA Guidance 02/2026

A bank that guarantees its client a 5% return on their investments must bear the consequences. In judgments 4A_361/2024 and 4A_363/2024 of 18 June 2025, the bank learned this the hard way and was ordered to pay more than USD 31 million. In June 2010, a bank met with two brothers from a wealthy Qatari family with a view to establishing a business relationship. After several discussions, the parties entered into a credit agreement in which the bank undertook to[...]

The Federal Supreme Court has upheld a ruling by the Geneva Court of Appeal dismissing a liability claim against a bank for mismanagement on the grounds that the allegations were insufficient (ruling 4A_276/2024 of 31 March 2025). The client had held a bank account with the bank in question since the 1960s. In 1995, she inherited EUR 3 million and entered into a management agreement with the bank. At that time, the client's portfolio consisted solely of bonds and cash.[...]

When several clients are harmed in the same case of fraud, an important question arises in insurance: is this a single claim or several claims? In its ruling 4A_626/2024 of 21 March 2025, the Federal Court answered in the affirmative. It upheld an arbitration award that denied a bank any insurance coverage on the grounds that each claim by an aggrieved customer had to be considered a separate claim, subject in particular to a separate deductible. The ruling highlights the[...]

There is debate about the extent to which the client's knowledge and experience should be gathered as part of the suitability test. The solution proposed by Art. 12 para. 2 FinSA is probably not satisfactory for the investment advisory service. For the management service, the interpretation of this provision proposed by FINMA in its Circular 2025/2 on the rules of conduct according to FinSA and FinSO has been fairly criticized and, according to some, deviates from the will of Parliament.[...]