Verwaltungsrecht

Finanzmarktaufsicht zwischen Macht und Ohnmacht

FINMA has been under constant criticism since its inception; the disappearance of Credit Suisse has only added fuel to the fire. The case of FINMA’s attempted enforcement of a capital surcharge – from 2016 until today! –, which is well documented by court rulings, drastically highlights the difficulties of delivering effective supervision in individual cases in accordance with the mandate. …

Kantonalbanken im Spannungsfeld von Political Governance und Corporate Governance

Like the other banks, the cantonal banks are facing the challenges of increasing regulation, digitalisation and the persistently low interest rate environment, and are exposed to the accompanying competitive and margin pressure. They have to virtually reinvent their business models and themselves in order to secure their positions as future-oriented financial service providers in their regions…

Das Finanzmarktaufsichtsrecht vom vierten Quartal 2021 bis ins vierte Quartal 2022

Ohne Vertrauen keine funktionsfähige Gemeinschaft! Was für Staat und Gesellschaft gilt, gilt auch für Unternehmen und deren Mitarbeitende auf allen Stufen. Das unternehmensinterne Kontrollumfeld trägt diesem Umstand Rechnung, was sich in einer angemessenen Breite und Tiefe der Kontrollen ausdrücken muss, ohne die Mitarbeitenden auf Schritt und Tritt zu überwachen. Die Enttäuschung von…

Recent developments in Swiss competition law

1. In economic theory, transparency of information is usually seen as a positive condition, which contributes to effective competition. When one turns to competition law, however, it seems that parties are often reluctant for the decisions or judgments relating to their activities and transactions to be published. This sensitivity may sometimes seem rather surprising, especially when one takes into…

Editorial

Am 19. Juni 2020 haben die Eidgenössischen Räte die Revision des schweizerischen Aktienrechts verabschiedet. Die Referendumsfrist ist am 8. Oktober 2020 unbenützt abgelaufen, sodass mit einer Inkraftsetzung im Laufe des Jahres 2022 zu rechnen ist. Zu den Hauptstossrichtungen der Reform zählt sicher die Digitalisierung, welche nebst den Formalitäten des Rechtsverkehrs auch das materielle…

Intransparentere FINMA-Praxis

The abolishment of the FINMA Bulletin and the FINMA enforcement report render significant parts of financial market supervisory practice inaccessible. A resumption of these series is desirable to enable market participants to gauge FINMA expectations and to check their equal treatment, and the public to oversee the authority’s workings. These goals are widely acknowledged to warrant publication…

Automatisierte Entscheidungen: Perspektive Datenschutzrecht und ­öffentliche Verwaltung

In the area of government action, automated individual decisions in the sense of the draft revision of the Swiss Federal Data Protection Act (E-DSG) are fully automated decrees. Art. 19 E-DSG provides, on the one hand, for a labelling obligation for such decrees and, on the other hand, for certain decisions, the person concerned is granted the opportunity, upon request, to state his point of view…

Mise sous scellés et infractions financières: développements récents

The sealing of evidence is a procedural tool of great relevance, notably in the context of economic offences. The case law on this measure is important and sometimes uncertain. This is especially true in administrative criminal law: the practical importance of this area of law has been steadily increasing these past years while its procedural provisions appear to be outdated. This paper deals…

LEFin-LSFin: des assujettis face aux nouveaux organes et organismes

The regulations governing financial institutions and services are bringing new actors – such as portfolio managers and trustees – within the scope of FINMA su­pervision, supported by a reformed self-regulatory framework. It is worth comparing the latter with the set of rules and organizational measures adopted for the registration of client advisors and the control of prospectuses for securities…

Les frais de procédure et d’investigation sous pression

There has been a sharp increase in appeals relating to FINMA’s investigation and litigation costs. This article takes up recent case law and examines in detail all the legal questions that have been submitted to the federal judges over the past twelve months. The current FINMA’s practice of charging procedural costs to individuals and legal entities irrespective of whether or not they are subject…