Promissory Note

Recommendations of Swiss data protection authorities Today, 28th January, is European Data Protection Day. The day was originally initiated by the Council of Europe (CoE) in 2007. As Switzerland is a member of the CoE too, the day is also celebrated in Switzerland.

The UK leaves the EU with a withdrawal agreement which foresees a transitional period during which regulations on the coordination of social security remain applicable with Switzerland.

On 27 September 2020, the Swiss electorate voted with a clear majority to introduce two weeks of paternity leave which will enter into force on 1 January 2021. This has resulted in adjustments to the employment law provisions in the Code of Obligations (CO).

While giving or receiving “simple gifts” is a welcome opportunity to initiate and foster business relationships, bribery is almost globally punishable.

Are you struggling to keep up with constant regulatory changes? Would you like to learn about a tool to challenge this regulatory tsunami? If so, please continue reading to discover how PwC’s Regulatory Radar can help you track all regulatory initiatives and remain on the road to success.

The German EU Council Presidency has published a new draft of the ePrivacy regulation which is intended to supplement the European GDPR. The latest version of the draft provides substantial changes on the rules on electronic communications and digital marketing.

Since the entry into force of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) more than two years ago, the global data protection landscape has been changing. As a result, many international data protection laws have been newly adopted, modified or become effective.

After the landmark ruling "Schrems II", the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) published its recommendations on data transfers to third countries in November 2020. These recommendations will be key for Swiss companies.

Brexit brings with it many uncertainties, especially in the area of data protection. Therewith, it is still questionable whether the level of data protection in the UK will be considered equivalent by the EU after the UK's final withdrawal from the European Union. A non-recognition would result in serious consequences for Swiss companies....

Investors and policymakers want greater transparency and comparability regarding climate risks in the banking and insurance sector. If not properly assessed, evaluated and monitored, climate risks are the new drivers of value decrease.

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (“FINMA”) has adopted its regulation implementing FINSA and FINIA. This encompasses a new implementing ordinance to FINIA, as well as changes to FINMA ordinances and circulars that need to be adjusted as a result of the implementation of FINSA and FINIA.

For the first time in Europe, a case relating to the "Schrems II" judgment was brought before a higher court, namely the Conseil d’ État (French Supreme Administrative Court). Remarkably, the French data protection authority originally had a different view on the case compared to that of the court itself. This creates legal uncertainty across...

As recently as last year, the number of large fines based on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) increased steadily. However, since the outbreak of the corona crisis, European data protection authorities appear to have stepped on the brakes relating to GDPR enforcement actions. But it looks like things are starting to move again.

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA recommends its supervised institutions affected by the replacement of LIBOR to sign the new Fallbacks Protocol published by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) as soon as possible.

The French data protection authority (CNIL) recently published an updated version of its guidelines on cookies called "Recommendations on cookies and other trackers".

Recently, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued a new landmark decision on the retention of data by EU Member States (C-511/18).

The EU is stepping up its rules to make CCPs safer and address systemic risk that could arise from their potential failure.

Almost to the day three years after the Federal Council first published the draft bill to revise the Swiss Data Protection Act (FADP), the Parliament was finally able to agree on a new law.

On 10 September 2020, the second chamber of the parliament adopted an amending act to further improve Switzerland’s framework conditions for distributed ledger technology (DLT)/blockchain companies.

Swiss data protection legislation guarantees the security and protection of personal data, especially when exchanging data with foreign countries. For data transfers from Switzerland to the USA, it was previously possible to obtain certification under the CH-US Privacy Shield, thus ensuring a partially adequate level of data protection for data...

In a long-awaited decision, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has invalidated the EU-US Privacy Shield, a framework governing data transfers between the EU and the US. Good news, however, the transfer of personal data based on standard contractual clauses is still allowed.

FINMA has authorised two supervisory organisations responsible for the future supervision of portfolio managers and trustees.

As of 24 June 2020 the FINSA client advisor registry and ombudsman have been licensed. To get a certificate of knowledge and know-how, the FINSA Client Advisor Test is the only recognised online certificate that shows sufficient proof for it.

The outbreak of the highly contagious and rapidly spreading COVID-19 virus is continuing to have a significant impact across the globe. Not only have travel restrictions and the concern of getting infected changed everyday life completely, there have also been drastic changes in the working world. Wherever possible, working from home has become...

Commonly known scandals, such as the Panama Papers or Cambridge Analytica, made evident that whistleblowers can play an important role when it comes to unveiling misconduct inside companies and organisations. Until now, whistleblower protection in the European Union (EU) had only been regulated in a fragmented manner. However, with the...

The pandemic hit us all unexpectedly, and our worries and uncertainties are fueled by the unusual situation. But when the storm is over and the dust settles, we have the future. Even the pandemic has an expiry date. Under these exceptional circumstances, senior executives faced tough business decisions, amid ad hoc government actions to manage...

According to Swiss immigration law, employers are required to reimburse all travel, housing and meal expenses that employees incur in connection with their assignment to Switzerland. The Swiss government will now limit this obligation to one year as of 1 April 2020.

As a result of the referendum held on 23 June 2016 and after a long period of uncertainty, the UK and EU parliaments approved the withdrawal agreement bill on 23 January 2020. The UK will exit the EU on 31 January 2020. The transition period will last until 31 December 2020.

This article explains the BVG reform, which was sent for consultation on 13 December 2019, its main points and the points that could give rise to controversy.

As a result of the referendum held on 23 June 2016 the United Kingdom decided to leave the European Union. After a long period of uncertainty, the elections of the British House of Commons on 12 December 2019 seem to have cleared the way for a (hard) Brexit on 31 January 2020.

The Federal Council issues a legislative proposal for the improvement of the legal framework for DLTs. Key takeaways.

Spanish Supreme Court Judgment on dividends taxation for non-resident investment funds

A summary of the key requirements and relationships between a Whistleblower, Undertaking and a Competent Authority as set out within the Whistleblower EU directive.

The European Union (EU) has formally adopted new rules on whistleblower protection - a game-changing piece of legislation that will help protect persons reporting on incidents (“whistleblowers”) across Europe. It is the first time that the EU has a dedicated legislation in this area.

The parliament already passed the Financial Services Act (FinSA) and the Financial Institutions Act (FinIA) in summer 2018. As planned, at its meeting of 6 November 2019 the Federal Council put FinSA and FinIA, together with the final ordinances into force with effect from 1 January 2020.

As a result of ever growing international pressure regarding transparency and information exchange, on 21 June 2019 Parliament passed the new Swiss Federal Act implementing the recommendations of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.

The Blockchain Observatory and Forum of the European Union (EUBOF), an initiative of the European Commission to accelerate the development of blockchain in the European Union (EU), has published a new report named “Legal and regulatory framework of blockchains and smart contracts”. The paper highlights the typical legal issues which often arise...

The Swiss Data Protection Act (DPA) is currently being revised. Due to the rapid technological development over the last 20 years, the DPA is no longer up to date.

On 11 September 2019, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) published a supplement to their guidelines for Initial Coin Offerings (ICO). This supplement provides guidance on “stable coins” under Swiss financial market regulation.

According to the Federal Council's timetable, the final versions of the Financial Services Ordinance (FinSO) and the Financial Institutions Ordinance (FinIO) are set to be published at the beginning of November 2019.

In April this year, the European Parliament voted to adopt a new directive and a new regulation with regard to cross-border distribution of alternative investment funds (“AIFs”) and undertakings for collective investments in transferable securities (“UCITS”). The regulatory package has now been finalised and published in the Official Journal of...

After almost a ten year delay, the U.S. Senate has finally approved the protocol (the 2009 Protocol) to amend the double tax treaty between the Swiss Confederation and the United States of America.

The Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act (“CLOUD Act”) at its core allows US law enforcement authorities to request from cloud providers in the United States (US) data over which they exercise possession, custody or control. It may affect also data hosted by communication service providers (“CSP”), such us cloud or email suppliers, on...

The Regulatory Technical Standards on strong customer authentication and secure api (RTS on SCA & CSC), which will apply from 14 September 2019, are the key to achieving the objectives of PSD2.

The European Parliament and EU Council have recently agreed to a game-changing piece of legislation that will help protect persons reporting incidents (“whistleblowers”) across Europe. It is the first time that the EU will have a dedicated legislation in this area.

The impact of EMIR Refit on Swiss-based entities as parties to OTC derivative contracts with EU-based counterparties and for Swiss banks that have affected corporate clients

It was expected, or at least there was wishful thinking, that MiFID II (2014/65/EU) and GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) would be the regulatory summit for our high mountain region. However, the European Regulator is continuing to pursue its overall goal of strengthening the regulatory framework in the European Union, which, in turn, is having a...

In 2017, the Swiss Financial Market Authority (FINMA) declared its intent to grant certain exemptions and preferential rules to particularly solid small banks. FINMA’s underlying idea is to reduce the regulatory burden, which has been increasing ever since the 2008 financial crisis, for small banks with above-average capitalisation and high...

Switzerland is about to introduce the next generation of DLT legislation that ensures that it will keep its reputation as most DLT friendly nation in the world. As the DLT markets mature, the regulatory focus is shifting from primary markets to secondary markets. The new proposed Swiss legislation, subject to consultation until 28 June 2019 and...

Switzerland is about to introduce the next generation of DLT-legislation that ensures that it will keep its reputation as most DLT-friendly nation in the world. As the DLT-markets mature, the regulatory focus is shifting from primary markets to secondary markets. The new proposed Swiss legislation that is subject to consultation until 28 June...

On 26 March 2019, the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) published its guidelines for the secure use of cloud services in banking. The SBA asserts that cloud banking provides numerous advantages to its users, such as a high innovation potential due to the use of artificial intelligence, but also an opportunity to save costs, which benefits smaller...

The legislative landscape regarding DAC6 is developing across E.U. Member States as national governments move to introduce relevant laws before the 31 December 2019 deadline. The amendment to Directive 2011/16/EU on mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation in relation to reportable cross-border arrangements (DAC6 for...

During its meeting on 22 March 2019, the Federal Council initiated the consultation on the adaptation of federal law to developments in distributed ledger technology (DLT) which will last until 28 June 2019.

Am 15. Februar 2019 hat der Rat der Europäischen Union eine Einigung über ein Packet von überbearbeiteten Vorschriften zur Risikominderung im europäischen Bankensektor gebilligt. Damit wird endlich Klarheit geschaffen, welche aufsichtsrechtlichen Herausforderungen und Themen die regulatorische Agenda in den kommenden Jahren dominieren werden.

The Swiss Federal Council’s plan to improve the attractiveness of Switzerland as a financial centre for the fund industry is beginning to take shape. The idea is to introduce a Swiss fund type for institutional investors that does not require authorisation by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA.

The changes introduced by the new regulatory framework for the Swiss financial markets impact trade assayers. They will be supervised by new institutions and will need to introduce organisational measures, and some will need to apply for authorisation with FINMA. This paper gives an overview on how trade assayers are embedded in the new...

On March 8th, 2019, the Federal Council has initiated the consultation on a partial revision of the Banking Act. The revision envisages amendments in the areas of bank restructuring, deposit insurance and segregation of intermediated securities.

Am 15. Februar 2019 hat der Rat der Europäischen Union eine Einigung über ein Packet von überbearbeiteten Vorschriften zur Risikominderung im europäischen Bankensektor gebilligt. Damit wird endlich Klarheit geschaffen, welche aufsichtsrechtlichen Herausforderungen und Themen die regulatorische Agenda in den kommenden Jahren dominieren werden.

FINMA provisionally recognises the UK provisions on clearing, reporting, and risk mitigation as equivalent to the Swiss ones. This is the first step towards enabling market participants to comply with the Swiss derivatives regulation by fulfilling the corresponding UK obligations.

To ensure the existing mutual rights and obligations of its citizens continue to apply after Brexit, Switzerland and the UK signed a Bilateral Agreement on 25 February 2019 guaranteeing the acquired rights of their citizens currently living abroad in the UK and Switzerland, respectively. This Agreement also governs the rules for UK citizens...

Under the Financial Services Act (FinSA), client advisors must know the FinSA Code of Conduct and display the ability to perform competently. To ensure that this is the case, PwC has devised a test that has become the new benchmark for financial service providers.

The UK is an important partner for Switzerland in many areas, including migration. Switzerland wishes to ensure that the existing mutual rights and obligations in its relationship with the UK will continue to apply as far as possible after the UK leaves the EU.

Similar to other European countries, Switzerland has amended its immigration law to stipulate legally binding integration requirements for foreign nationals and to facilitate access to the Swiss labour market for recognised refugees and provisionally admitted persons.

Several countries have developed or introduced gender pay legislations. This leads to the question whether this increase will reduced gender related pay differences. Is there any evidence of the impact?

The Swiss Parliament agreed last December on details for a revision of the equal pay regulation. This revised law is subject to referendum after which the Federal Council will decide on the final date of entry into force. What are the latest revisions and how can your company prepare for this upcoming legislation? Our PwC experts answer these...

The financial services industry will see some new regulations and requirements in 2020. For the first time, investment advisors will have to be entered in a client advisor register. They will also be required to affiliate themselves with an ombudsman. These and other changes are coming with the Swiss Financial Services Act.

It was expected, or at least there was wishful thinking, that MiFID II (2014/65/EU) and GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) would be the regulatory summit for our high mountain region. However, the European Regulator is continuing to pursue its overall goal of strengthening the regulatory framework in the European Union, which, in turn, is having a...

Today, corporate decision makers are well advised to consider data privacy as early as possible. Finally, taking a broad view is paramount as some data privacy laws claim extraterritorial reach, such as the EU’s GDPR, leading to a complex overlap of national and regional data privacy laws.

The U.S. government re-imposed sanctions that were lifted pursuant to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (hereafter "JCPOA"), including sanctions on associated services related to further activities.

As the Swiss FinTech industry grows rapidly, uncertainty spreads across the traditional banking industry. Should Swiss banks do business with blockchain companies? On 20. September 2018, the Swiss Banker Association has published compliance related guidelines.

The rules and provisions under the new Swiss Financial Institutions Act (FinIA) will have an impact on proprietary traders in securities as participants to trading venues. Entities that have so far not been subject to regulation will need to become licenced as investment firms.

Switzerland has introduced its version of reporting obligations regarding electricity – but not gas (as with REMIT) - that relate directly to the obligations of Swiss domiciled entities under REMIT.

Violations of the law and ethical misbehaviour damage companies, the economy and society. Employees as well as third parties should have the opportunity to report misconduct to suitable bodies within a company or to authorities without having to fear disadvantages or sanctions.

European Market Infrastructures Regulation (EMIR) was the European Union’s (EU) response to systemic risks created by OTC derivatives. EMIR introduced an obligation for standardised and liquid OTC derivative contracts to be traded over a trading venue, a clearing obligation for OTC derivatives by means of a central counterparty (CCP), as well as...

On 8 March 2018, the European Parliament and Council released a proposal for the regulation of commercial European Crowdfunding Service Providers (ECSP).

On September 3rd 2018, FINMA published a new fact sheet on dealing with virtual currencies, such as "Bitcoin". The fact sheet provides information on licensing requirements under financial market law and risks associated with the blockchain technology. This technology makes it possible to manage monetary units of virtual currencies in a computer...

On 28 August 2018, the Ministry for General Government Affairs and Finance of Liechtenstein published the consultation report on the new Blockchain Act. The new law aims to strengthen the legal certainty for users and service providers in order to further promote the positive development of the "token economy" in Liechtenstein and, at the same...

In mid-June 2018, the Parliament decided to create a new licence category in the Banking Act to promote innovation in the financial markets sector. On August 28th 2018, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA opened a consultation of the revised AMLO-FINMA until the 26th October 2018.

In this blog post we look at initial coin offerings: what they are, how they work, and the things to bear in mind if you’re intending to launch an ICO that raises funds and does your reputation good.

This brochure has been made available by PwC Legal to give you an overview of the main issues and of the initial effects, with the intention of helping you get an overall view of the ways in which the Swiss financial market is regulated and of the next steps to be expected.

The EU has enacted a new set of regulations applicable to securitisations and a more specific framework for simple, transparent, and standardised securitisations (“Regulation”).

The new EU Benchmarks Regulation (BMR) was published in June 2016 and introduces new compliance requirements for benchmark administrators, contributors, a12345nd users, with regard to interest rate, foreign exchange, security, commodity, and other benchmarks used in financial transactions.

ESMA published and updated in the last couple of days additional Level 3 Q&A papers. Due to the specification and clarification purposes of the Level 3 papers, this should help you during and after the implementation phase and could clarify open questions.

From 13 February 2018 to 28 March 2018 the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA conducted a public hearing on the draft of the partially revised FINMA Circular 2016/7 "Video and online identification". FINMA published the partially revised circular on 17 July 2018. The aim of the partial revision is to adapt the Circular to the...

The European Commission has published a draft delegated regulation proposing to amend the Delegated Regulation (EU) No 231/2013 to the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) as regards safe-keeping duties of depositaries for Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs). The newly proposed obligations would address depositaries and...

On 12 June 2018, the National Council resolved the last differences on the Financial Services Act (FinSA) and the Financial Institutions Act (FinIA). Thus, the FinSA and the FinIA are ready for the final votes, which will take place on Friday, 15 June 2018.

On 31 May 2018 the EEA Joint Committee reached a decision without reservation regarding the implementation of Solvency II Level 2 and EMIR Level 2 frameworks. Thus, as of 1 June 2018, the EMIR and Solvency II Level 2 delegated acts are applicable to Liechtenstein, Norway and Island.

Am 31. Mai 2018 beschloss der gemeinsame EWR-Ausschuss die vorbehaltslose Implementation der Solvency II Level 2 und der EMIR Level 2 delegierten Rechtsakte. Folglich wurden per 01. Juni 2018 die EMIR und Solvency II Level 2 Rechtsakte in Liechtenstein, Norwegen und Island anwendbar.

On 29 May 2018, the National Council passed its resolution on the Financial Services Act (FinSA) and the Financial Institutions Act (FinIA). Shortly thereafter, on 4 June 2018, the Council of States discussed about FinSA and FinIA and resolved the following differences:

On Tuesday 29 May 2018, the National Council discussed again about the Financial Services Act (FinSA) and the Financial Institutions Act (FinIA). After the resolution of the National Council a few differences remain to the text approved by the Council of State.

With the revision of the Criminal Law on Corruption, the criminal responsibility of companies and their management is gaining in importance.

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA has recently announced that it will introduce the clearing obligation, meaning to clear certain derivatives over central counterparties, under the Swiss Financial Market Infrastructure Act (FMIA) that are traded by counterparties having the status of either an FC+, meaning large Financial...

This primer seeks to give an overview of the key obligations under Swiss regulatory laws related to cryptocurrencies and asset management related to cryptocurrencies.

An initial coin offering (ICO) or a token sale is when a company sells a predefined number of digital tokens to the public in a limited period of time. The ICO market has grown very rapidly in recent months and has been a new avenue for blockchain-based start-ups and projects to get the funding needed to launch their projects.

On 1 February 2021, the parts of the Swiss DLT-act that introduce ledger-based securities (i.e. register uncertificated securities) to Swiss law have entered into force. The remaining provisions of the DLT-act will enter into force on 1 August 2021.

On 7 March, the E-ID Act will be put to the vote in Switzerland. Especially in the area of data protection, opponents and supporters disagree on the extent to which the introduction of the law would cause problems.

Platform business models has changed how businesses are conceptualised and conducted. Interested to know more about the value of a platform business model?

With the narrow rejection of the Swiss Responsible Business Initiative (RBI), Swiss companies will have the challenge of aligning with stricter, EU-inspired standards in terms of corporate disclosure and sectoral human rights due diligence. In this blog post we explain how you can take the reins and become best in class – and why the current...