B-01-01

Was FINMA, and subsequently the Federal Administrative Court, right to refuse dividend payments by an insurance company in connection with the approval of a liquidation plan and a modified business plan on the grounds that the company had failed to comply with its obligation to cooperate with the supervisory authority? This is the question that the Federal Supreme Court had to answer in a ruling handed down on 18 February (2C_94/2024). The case in question concerns an insurance company that[...]

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.[...]

The Federal Supreme Court decision 7B_1158/2024 of 18 February 2025 (not intended for publication) does not introduce any major new developments but constitutes an additional landmark in the maze of sealing procedures, in particular in the case of parallel procedures and the transmission of information between authorities. Following a report from FINMA, the FDF opened administrative criminal proceedings in March 2021 for breach of the duty of disclosure committed within a bank. In this context, the administrative authority requested various[...]

Cross-border financial market supervision and effective international cooperation are essential for the stability and integrity of the world's financial markets. To this end, the Federal Council has just launched a consultation on amendments to the Financial Market Supervisory Authority Act (LFINMA), the Audit Supervision Act (ASA) and the Swiss National Bank Act (NBA) to adapt the Swiss legal framework to the current conditions for international cooperation. This commentary focuses exclusively on the proposed amendments to LFINMA. The preliminary draft seeks[...]