Laws/Regulations directly regulating AI (the “AI Regulations”) - Currently, there are no specific laws, statutory rules, or regulations in Switzerland that directly regulate AI. AI in Switzerland is currently subject to...more
Having had a front-row seat in the last banking crisis in 2008/9, one of the lessons that I thought everyone learned was the need for stable and consistent regulations regarding bank capitalization....more
March 19, 2023- The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA has approved the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is also granting the merged bank further liquidity assistance that is...more
Designed for busy in-house counsel, compliance professionals, and anti-corruption lawyers, this newsletter summarizes some of the most important international anti-corruption law and case developments from the past month,...more
Blockchain Clearing, Settlement, Custody and Capital Markets Developments - This week, R3 and a major multinational financial services company announced a partnership to develop and pilot a cross-border payments solution...more
The Polsinelli BitBlog Weekly Update begins with the U.S. Securities and Exchange (“SEC”) settlement with an issuer of securities, who managed to both illegally offer securities, and create an unlicensed exchange to trade...more
• On 2 November 2016, the Swiss Federal Council announced that it planned to reduce barriers to market entry for FinTech companies. • The program of the Swiss Federal Council comprised three pillars consisting of (i) the...more
• Under Swiss law, to fulfil the clearing, reporting and risk mitigation obligations applying to derivatives trading under foreign law, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) must recognize the foreign law...more
• Following the 2008 crisis, Switzerland launched a legislative project to create uniform competitive conditions for financial intermediaries and improve client protection. • Swiss Parliament adopted the FinIA on 15 June...more
• Following the 2008 crisis, Switzerland launched a legislative project to create uniform competitive conditions for financial intermediaries and improve client protection. • Swiss Parliament adopted the FinSA on 15 June...more
With crypto-currencies on the rise and technological developments providing great opportunities in the financial services sector, Initial Coin Offerings ("ICO") provide an innovative way of raising capital. They are...more
U.S. Developments - SEC Remarks on International Virtual Currency Enforcement - On December 5, 2018, Steven Peikin, Co-Director of the Division of Enforcement at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), gave a...more
Upcoming Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (“ETF”) Decisions - On January 4, 2018, NYSE Arca filed a proposed rule change to list 9 Bitcoin ETFs. Subsequently, the time for the Security Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to approve or...more
The European Securities and Markets Authority has published an own-initiative report prepared by its Securities and Markets Stakeholder Group. The purpose of the report is to provide advice to ESMA on steps it might take to...more
The Situation: In February 2018, Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority ("BaFin") published an advisory letter on the classification of tokens as financial instruments, which was widely criticized for being too...more
• The rapid proliferation of technological advancements in global financial markets has caused regulators in several countries to increase their scrutiny of investments in, and implications of, cryptocurrencies. • This...more
US CFTC and UK FCA Sign Arrangement to Collaborate on FinTech Innovation - On February 19, The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") and the UK's Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") signed an arrangement that...more
In guidelines published on February 16, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (“FINMA“) sets out how it intends to apply financial market legislation in handling enquiries from initial coin offering (ICO)...more
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) recently announced that it had closed its criminal investigation into allegations of fraudulent conduct in the foreign exchange (FX) market. The SFO began its investigation in July 2014...more
On July 30, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) provided its advice and opinion to the European Commission, Council and Parliament with respect to the extension of the EU’s Alternative Investment Fund...more
The American Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), British Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) announced fines of $3.4 billion against five global banks on...more
At the beginning of this year – to the (pleasant) surprise of market participants – an agreement came into force to implement a simplification in the marketing of Swiss securities funds (Effektenfonds) in Germany, and German...more
On December 3, 2012, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) approved a cooperation arrangement between the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) and regulators in the EU member states for the...more