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From the magazine SZW-RSDA 2/2019 | S. 155-175 The following page is 155

Fortress Europe: Die Äquivalenzverfahren der EU im Bereich der Finanzdienstleistungen

The European Union is by far the most important ­market for Swiss cross-border financial services. So far, the key strategy for market access has been to tailor Swiss financial regulation so as to achieve equivalence with EU law. However, the analysis of the current equivalence procedures reveals that equivalence is not the door opener one had hoped for. Core activities such as deposit-taking, lending and insurance are not covered by the equivalence schemes. Also, there are no equivalence mechanisms for service to retail clients. Furthermore, the majority of equivalence decisions do not result in market access rights for third country providers. ­Finally, a great number of equivalence decisions are not relevant for Swiss financial intermediaries. In short: Even the maximum equivalence will grant the Swiss­ ­financial industry only limited market access. Equi­valence remains a key concept, but it needs to be complemented with additional strategies.

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