Case-law

The reasoning behind the Federal Court's decision, handed down following a hearing on 23 May 2025, rejecting a lawsuit brought against the Swiss Confederation in connection with the emergency merger of Credit Suisse Group AG (CS) into UBS Group AG (UBS), has finally been made public (TF, 23.5.2025, 2E_1/2024). The case concerns a couple from Aargau who purchased CS shares on the stock exchange between 10 and 15 March 2023. In the days that followed, the crisis of confidence that[...]

In its ruling 2C_368/2023 of August 6, 2025, handed down by five judges but not intended for publication, the Federal Supreme Court upheld the ban on practicing imposed on the former member of the management of Banca della Svizzera Italiana SA (“BSI”) more than two years after confirming that imposed on the former Head of Legal & Compliance (decision 2C_747/2021, commented on in: Braidi, cdbf.ch/1286). The appellant, former CEO of BSI Singapore Ltd. and member of the management of BSI,[...]

In its ruling ACJC/805/2025 of June 16, 2025, the Court of Justice of the Canton of Geneva ruled on an action for rectification of personal data brought in a banking context. This ruling, which to our knowledge is one of the first published court decisions on such an action in the banking sector, raises questions regarding the application of the revised Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) in relation to the designation of a beneficial owner. The ruling, which is[...]

Unless expressly stated in the contract, a bank may not terminate a mortgage loan early if, at the time of termination, there are no outstanding payments (4A_599/2024 of May 26, 2025). In August 2021, a bank entered into a mortgage financing agreement with a company and offered a credit line of up to CHF 4,552,500. Article 7 of the agreement stipulates that the debt must be reduced by annual repayments of CHF 52,500, the first of which is due on[...]

In its ruling 4A_493/2024 of 17 June 2025, the Federal Court concluded that employers are required to provide references, in addition to employment certificates, to employees who request them. However, it refrained from setting a specific deadline for doing so, as this will depend on the specific circumstances of each case. The employee had been working for a bank in Zurich since February 2011. The bank dismissed the employee on 2 December 2014 after facing regulatory proceedings in Switzerland, the[...]

‘If money doesn't bring happiness, give it back!’ said Jules Renard. Coluche seized on the phrase with his characteristic wit, and the line struck a chord with people throughout France and Navarre. The following story, sadly familiar, brings us back to this strange paradox. The ruling it generated, TF 4A_577/2024 of 10 July 2025, confirms a carefully reasoned decision by the Zurich Handelsgericht (133 pages) concerning a lack of legitimacy. We apologise in advance to the reader for the length[...]

A possible contractual imbalance in a credit relationship between a bank and its clients does not engage the bank's liability, even if the bank provides its clients with limited information. These are the main findings of judgment 4A_567/2024 of 27 May 2025. In 2013, clients entered into a mortgage loan agreement with a bank for approximately CHF 1.5 million. The interest rate was variable and corresponded to the three-month LIBOR (later SARON) plus a margin. The agreement provided that if[...]

Statements obtained under an obligation to cooperate with FINMA are inadmissible in administrative criminal proceedings brought against an individual for engaging in financial intermediary activities without authorization. This conclusion, reached by the Federal Supreme Court in its judgment 7B_45/2022 of July 21, 2025 (not intended for publication), results in the case being referred back to the Appeals Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court, which will have to re-examine the case without this evidence. The case dates back to 2014, when[...]

When the bank makes a margin call, the client may have very little time to react and provide new funds. In its ruling 4A_389/2024 of May 8, 2025, the Federal Supreme Court reiterated its strict case law on Lombard loans, particularly with regard to clients with extensive financial knowledge and experience. In early April 2019, a client entered into a relationship with a bank. During the account opening process, the client stated that he was an investment expert, had a[...]

A CEO who discloses confidential information to a journalist must compensate his employer for the damage caused, in this case the costs incurred by the communications agency. The fact that other press articles had been published previously does not negate the existence of a causal link (4A_159/2024). A company belonging to a Portuguese banking and financial group dismissed its CEO. It drew his attention to his obligation to maintain professional secrecy. A few years later, rumours began to circulate about[...]

In three judgments 1C_435/2024, 1C_604/2024 (intended for publication) and 1C_610/2024 of 19 May 2025, the Federal Supreme Court ruled to uphold the freeze on bank assets ordered by the Federal Council in 2022 and 2023, the beneficial owners of which are persons belonging to the political entourage of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. The assets had initially been seized following a request for international mutual assistance in criminal matters addressed to Switzerland by Ukraine (see TPF, RR.2017.118-121, RR.2017.122, 6 February[...]

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.[...]

Bank accounts held by a lawyer may contain information protected by professional secrecy, which must not be disclosed to a foreign state in the context of administrative assistance in tax matters. This must be assumed to be the case for client accounts opened using Form R, but it is also possible that other accounts held by the lawyer may contain protected information. These are the principles laid down by the Federal Court in a ruling 2C_116/2023 of 2 May 2025[...]

On 15 May 2025, the Federal Court published a ruling of principle (TF 5A_440/2024 of 31 March 2025) clarifying the following question: Are loans granted by related parties to a company without an explicit subordination agreement subordinated in the event of the company's bankruptcy? The Federal Supreme Court confirmed that claims arising from such loans must, in principle, be treated as ordinary third-class claims in the event of bankruptcy (Art. 219 para. 4 LP). However, only in exceptional cases characterised[...]

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[...]

In its judgment ACJC/141/2025 of 28 January 2025, the Geneva Court of Justice ruled that a bank's communication of its new pricing conditions in accordance with its general terms and conditions, which provided for tacit acceptance, validly derogated from special conditions agreed with the customer on fees, in the absence of timely opposition by the latter. An appeal against this ruling has been lodged with the Federal Court. At the beginning of 2019, a client opened an account with a[...]

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[...]

In a recent judgement, the Federal Court rejected a bank's appeal against a judgement of the Vaud Cantonal Court refusing to order the seizure of real estate belonging to the debtor's ex-wife (judgement 5A_754/2024 of 18 February 2025). Although the judgement in question mainly concerns matters of enforcement, in particular in relation to the degree of likelihood that the creditor must achieve in order to obtain a sequestration, this case is a telling example of the difficulties that a creditor[...]

The Geneva Court of Justice, in its ruling ACJC/1653/2024 of 19 December 2024, ruled that a clause waiving retrocessions indicating percentage ranges of the ‘volume invested on an annual basis’ by product category is valid within the framework of a management mandate. The Court of Justice begins its reasoning by recalling the principle that the agent must not be impoverished or enriched by the mandate apart from his agreed fees. Referring to the judgment 4A_266/2010 (commented in Fischer, cdbf.ch/773), it[...]

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[...]