B-04-47 FINMA Guidance 06/2024

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[...]

On February 19, 2025, the Federal Council sent the message to Parliament concerning the project to extend the automatic international exchange of information in tax matters (AIE) to crypto-assets (the Message) by adopting a framework for the declaration of crypto-assets (CDA). In addition to the CDC, the Message proposes additions and amendments to the law (P-LEAR) and the ordinance (P-OEAR) on the automatic exchange of information. The new rules are expected to come into force on January 1, 2026, for[...]

On 26 July 2024, FINMA published Supervisory Notice 06/2024 on stablecoins. The communication covers the legal categorisation of stablecoins, the application of the anti-money laundering provisions, FINMA's practice with regard to default risk guarantees and the associated risks. This communication, which does not really contain anything new, is nevertheless a useful compendium of the Authority's practice developed since the publication of the Supplement to the Practical Guide for reporting issues relating to initial coin offerings (ICOs) on 11 September 2019.[...]

On 28 February 2024, the Federal Office of Police's Interdepartmental Coordination Group on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism (Fedpol) presented its second report on the money laundering risks associated with digital assets (i.e. digital assets based on blockchain technology such as Bitcoin or Ethereum). The report is of interest to financial intermediaries active in this area - in particular compliance functions - and proposes various recommendations to improve the fight against money laundering. It also highlights certain[...]