FinSA Q&A: FinIA
UBS Business Solutions AG
This product consists of 50 Q&As on the regulatory requirements of the Swiss Financial Institutions Act (“FinIA”).
Author's Note
The product, a know-how collection entitled “ FinSA Q&A: FinIA ” consists of 50 questions and answers (" Q&As ") developed by the UBS team of regulatory experts and provides you with the basis for understanding the general regulatory requirements of the FinIA. Your purchase gives you access to a know-how collection prepared by UBS and may serve as a basis for you to establish your best practices as a financial institution. The Regulatory Requirements of the FinIA When applying the FinIA in its interplay with the Swiss Financial Services Act (“ FinSA ”) and the revised Swiss Collective Investment Schemes Act (“ revCISA ”) financial institutions also have to understand the pertaining regulatory requirements. The rules in their interplay can be complex and the practice is still developing. A good understanding of this topic may hence be one of the top priorities in order to avoid regulatory and operational risks in this context. These Q&As are essential practical knowledge for...
Read moreThe product, a know-how collection entitled “FinSA Q&A: FinIA” consists of 50 questions and answers ("Q&As") developed by the UBS team of regulatory experts and provides you with the basis for understanding the general regulatory requirements of the FinIA.
Your purchase gives you access to a know-how collection prepared by UBS and may serve as a basis for you to establish your best practices as a financial institution.
The Regulatory Requirements of the FinIA
When applying the FinIA in its interplay with the Swiss Financial Services Act (“FinSA”) and the revised Swiss Collective Investment Schemes Act (“revCISA”) financial institutions also have to understand the pertaining regulatory requirements. The rules in their interplay can be complex and the practice is still developing. A good understanding of this topic may hence be one of the top priorities in order to avoid regulatory and operational risks in this context.
These Q&As are essential practical knowledge for financial institutions in Switzerland.
For a full overview of the questions covered by this product, see Questions answered by UBS' FinSA Q&A under the FinIA section.
What you get
After you make your purchase, PartnerVine makes the Q&A available to you for download as a searchable pdf. Below are two Q&As from this product so you can see a sample of what you will get:
Samples of the Q&A
How has the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) supervisory landscape changed under the FinIA?
Financial institutions regulated under the FinIA are generally also subject to the AMLA. Supervisory authority for the purposes of AMLA compliance of financial institutions generally rests with the FINMA. While the FINMA directly supervises managers of collective assets, fund management companies and securities firms, ongoing supervision of portfolio managers and trustees is performed by the newly instated supervisory organizations (SO; Aufsichtsorganisationen [AO]) (see question 1.5.). As this supervision also encompasses AMLA compliance, there is no need for these financial institutions for an additional registration with self-regulatory organizations (SRO) [see question 1.6.]).
The status of financial intermediaries under the AMLA, which were formerly supervised directly by the FINMA for AML-purposes (DUFI [direkt unterstellte Finanzintermediäre]) has been repealed as of 1 January 2020 . Such financial intermediaries which do not engage in business requiring a license under the FinIA (and are therefore not under the supervision of the FINMA or an SO) have to assess affiliation with an SRO for AMLA compliance purposes.
For further information, please refer to the topic FIM Business.
Financial institutions are only subject to the license requirements under the FinIA if they provide their services "on a commercial basis". What are the circumstances for affirming the commercial nature of the business of a portfolio manager or trustee?
In accordance with art. 19(1) FinIO, portfolio managers and trustees are deemed to pursue their activities on a commercial basis and, within the meaning of the anti-money laundering legislation, on a professional basis if they
- thereby generate gross earnings of more than CHF 50'000 per calendar year;
- establish business relationships with more than 20 contractual partners per calendar year, each of which relationships is not limited to a once-only activity, or they maintain at least 20 such relationships per calendar year; or
- have unlimited power of disposal over assets belonging to others, which assets exceed CHF 5 million at any given time.
For more detailed information please refer to the overview regarding licensing duty for financial institutions.
Who needs it
The FinSA Q&A: FinIA is for financial institutions in Switzerland. If you are a financial institution, this product helps you understand the FinIA requirements and implement them.
About UBS
UBS Business Solutions AG ("UBS") is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the UBS Group AG. For more information on UBS, go to www.ubs.com.
Key features
Key features of this product include:
- Structured & easy-to-read. Structured in a reader-friendly, easy-to-access Q&A format that is aligned with the relevant regulations.
- Easy-to-understand. The language is practical and business friendly. The explanations in the text are accompanied by tables and graphics which make it easier to understand and communicate the regulations.
- Interconnected. The Q&As include references to related content in other modules of UBS' FinSA Q&A and third party content to help readers understand the issues.
- Categorization. All of the Q&As are categorized into specific topic groups which you can adapt to your individual needs.
- Upskilling your employees. Underlined terms are explained in the Glossary, which is a complementary product that comprises over 160 terms and definitions. Together with the Glossary, the Q&As provide knowledge management support not just for employees that know an issue well, but employees that need to learn about an issue, increasing expertise across your firm.
- Cost & time savings. You receive extraordinary value when you purchase this product. As your usage increases, your savings increase dramatically (see the Relative Advantage Calculator on the left hand side and the section below on the Relative Advantage Calculator, which will help you understand the value of this product).
Relative Advantage
The FinSA Q&A: FinIA gets rid of the need to research Swiss regulatory requirements regarding these regulatory duties. The Relative Advantage Calculator on this page shows a conservative use case, and the amount you would save compared to doing the tasks without the benefit of our product. For the calculator, we've taken an hour as the estimate for a lawyer charging CHF 450 per hour to research the answer to one of our Q&As. Our assumptions are conservative ones based on our experience. If you'd like to change our assumptions, you can do so in the calculator and run the number again. The value delivered by our product is meaningful in the vast majority of circumstances, and exceptional as your usage increases.
Circumstances of Use
This product is intended for Swiss financial service providers and financial institutions and provides general information on the FinIA and related laws as of the date of finalization. Our objective is to provide the UBS' perspective of the law in order to help support a better understanding of the new regulatory framework in Switzerland. This product can be used either for implementing the new regulatory framework or as the basis of your own internal knowledge management. This product is not for use outside of Switzerland.
Important Terms
- This product is provided to you only for use in Switzerland.
- You are required to pay for this product by invoice after you have received it. As digital products are so easily replicable, there is no right of rescission for this product and your obligation to pay is unconditional.
- This product is provided to you on a non-reliance basis. There is no guarantee that this product will address your particular facts and circumstances, and you will have no recourse to UBS or PartnerVine if you do not think it does.
- Use of this product does not create an attorney-client relationship with UBS Business Solutions AG or PartnerVine, nor should the product be considered a substitute for qualified legal advice. If you need advice tailored to your facts and circumstances, please consult qualified counsel.
- Your contract for this product is with UBS Business Solutions AG. You will not have recourse to PartnerVine in respect of your use and enjoyment of this product.
Support
This product is a downloadable pdf. There is no additional support for this product.
Demonstration video
This video provides an overview of the "FinSA Q&A" offer from UBS. The video refers to the complete set of Q&As from UBS, and is helpful as an orientation for UBS' offering on PartnerVine.
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