Legal practitioners should not take Switzerland for granted.
A non-member of the EU, the country's rules need careful
consideration and understanding. In terms of banking capital
regulation, for example, Switzerland fully implemented Basel
III in 2013, but not the Capital Requirements Directive IV (CRD
IV).
Swiss requirements for Systemically Important Financial
Institutions (Sifis) are deemed stricter than CRD IV. There are
plans to review the Banking Law, as well as to subject external
asset managers to prudential supervision, but other rules, such
as the Banking Recovery and Resolution Directive will not be
put into force in Switzerland, although the Swiss Financial
Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) will safeguard on this
area via other requirements.
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"Switzerland’s rules need careful
consideration and understanding"
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Swiss legal practitioners were busy in 2014. The country
faced calls from Transparency International to toughen its
Anti-Money-Laundering rules, Swiss-based banks have been under
pressure from the US to release information on client current
accounts.
The country has also implemented new legislation on plans
for mass redundancies, issued an Ordinance to limit
remuneration of executives in Swiss listed companies and voted
in a referendum to impose a limit on immigration.
It will be interesting to see what impact all this has on
the Swiss ability to be competitive, when nearly a quarter of
the workforce comes from outside the country. There are also
concerns about the impact of this vote on Switzerland's
relationship with the EU in the medium to long term and the
possibility of an increase in tariffs.
The country's unique regulatory systems and approaches have
been comprehensively assessed in this IFLR guide. Read
contributions on legal hurdles in cooperating with foreign
governments, the Swiss approach to bank capital regulations,
whistleblowing, disputes developments and much more.
We hope this guide will provide crucial insight to those
navigating the nuances of Switzerland's economic climate and
financial agenda.
With contributions from the country's leading banks,
industry bodies and law firms, the Switzerland Guide 2015
should prove an invaluable resource.