Suchergebnisse für soziale Verantwortung von Unternehmen

Berücksichtigung von ESG-Präferenzen im Finanzdienstleistungs­geschäft

On 1 January 2023, the Swiss Bankers Association’s «Guidelines for the financial service providers on the integration of ESG-preferences and ESG-risks into investment advice and portfolio management» entered into force. This marks the first binding Swiss (self-)regulation on Sustainable Finance at the point of sale. One of the key amendments includes the financial service providers’ duty to…

Neuausrichtung des «Swiss Code of Best Practice for Corporate Governance» auf den Wandel der Zeit

The «Swiss Code of Best Practice for Corporate Governance», which was first published in 2002 and has since been revised several times, has become the most important guideline for good corporate governance in Switzerland and is widely accepted because it shows practical solutions based on expertise and experience. It compensates for its non-binding nature and lack of legal legitimacy, so to speak…

ESG Considerations and Public Benefit Corporations

There appears to be an international demand among investors for for-profit enterprises that commit to a social or environmental purpose and consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects. Inspired by U.S. legislation, EU and other state legislators have enacted statutes with new legal forms of business organizations – so-called benefit corporations – or are considering to do so in…

Berücksichtigung von ESG-Präferenzen im Finanzdienstleistungs­geschäft

On 1 January 2023, the Swiss Bankers Association’s «Guidelines for the financial service providers on the integration of ESG-preferences and ESG-risks into investment advice and portfolio management» entered into force. This marks the first binding Swiss (self-)regulation on Sustainable Finance at the point of sale. One of the key amendments includes the financial service providers’ duty to…

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…

Open Finance und Decentralized Finance – Entwicklungen in einem disruptiven Finanzmarktumfeld

The recent technological developments not only impact society in general but they also strongly influence financial markets, even in a disruptive way. Open finance and decentralized finance cause an opening of the financial ecosystem and challenge existing notions; for example, new concepts are needed for the regulation of data access/portability and of digital identity as well as for the…

Grüne Finanzprodukte

For environmentally sustainable financial products to be recognized by market participants, sufficient information about their environmental risks and impacts must be available. However, without regulatory measures, there are insufficient incentives for product providers to disclose the relevant information. The market is unable to correct these information deficits itself. The regulatory vacuum…

Nichtfinanzielle Berichterstattung nach dem Gegenvorschlag zur Konzernverantwortungsinitiative und ihre Bedeutung für den Finanzsektor

The financial market and its players play a key role in the pursuit of a sustainable economic system. If capital flows are specifically directed toward sustainable products and services, financial market participants can make a significant contribution to a resource-efficient economy. A key prerequisite for the regulatory control of the achievement of sustainability goals is the reporting of…

Salärgovernance und neues Aktienrecht

In determining the compensation of directors and top management, the board of directors of public companies is faced with a structural conflict of interest. The aim to mitigate this conflict through an appropriate design of the procedure forms the essence of the say-on-pay rules introduced by the Swiss electorate in a public vote in 2013 and implemented on a transitional basis in the Ordinance…

Regulierung von künstlicher Intelligenz für FinTech-Anwendungen

New methods of artificial intelligence represent one of the greatest promises and most prospective developments of digitalisation. Artificial intelligence has already enabled numerous innovative applications in the areas of image recognition, medicine, language and mobility, and it is also increasingly being used in the financial market, on which this article focuses. In addition to great…

Feuerproben des neuen Datenschutzgesetzes – Ein «tour d’horizon»

In the area of conflict between diverging individual needs and competing societal interests, a multitude of «trial by fire» awaits the new federal data protection law. One of these is the smartphone, which, as an always-available means of mobile identification and documentation, is well on its way to become an electronic anklet for everyone.

Datenportabilität und ihre Umsetzung

The right to data portability will be introduced, as a first for Switzerland, with the revised Swiss Data Protection Act. Inspired by the GDPR but with a “Swiss finish”, data subjects may (if certain conditions are met) request the controller to transfer “their” personal data to them or another controller. However, a number of questions remain open, for example: Which type of data is subject to…

«Open Banking» in der Schweiz – Herausforderungen an den Schnittstellen von Finanzmarkt-, Datenschutz- und Kartellrecht

«Open Banking» challenges traditional financial institutions in Switzerland and around the world. It poses strategic as well as legal compliance challenges. The present study delimits the (sometimes synonymously used) terms «Open Banking» and «API Banking» to the effect that Open Banking presupposes an access to the banking account (XS2A) on the basis of non-discriminatory criteria. It thus…

CSR-Berichterstattung Ante Portas: Indirekter Gegenvorschlag zur Konzernverantwortungsinitiative

In a popular vote held in November 2020, the controversially debated «Swiss Responsible Business Initiative» was rejected. As a matter of constitutional procedure, the Parliament’s Counterproposal from 2019 will now automatically come into force. Unlike the Initiative, the Counterproposal refrains from introducing a foreign direct liability of Swiss businesses for infringing human rights or…

Das Finanzmarktaufsichtsrecht vom vierten Quartal 2019 bis ins vierte Quartal 2020

Die FINMA ist verpflichtet, sich an strategischen Zielen zu orientieren.¹ 2021 bricht die nächste dreijährige Strategieperiode an; der Bundesrat hat die Ziele im November 2020 genehmigt.² Aus den strategischen Zielen ergeben sich die Leitlinien für die operative Tätigkeit der FINMA. Erstmals finden sich in einem separaten Dokument zu den einzelnen strategischen Zielen «Schwerpunkte der Umsetzung…

Konzernverantwortungsinitiative: Was ändert sich bei einem JA?

The highly debated Swiss Responsible Business Initiative will be put to public vote in November 2020. If the electorate supports the position of the Initiative, a provision titled «Responsibility of Businesses» will be introduced into the Swiss Constitution. According to this provision companies seated in Switzerland would be required to respect internationally recognized human rights and…

Corporate Purpose and Board of Directors: Means and Ends of Corporate Governance

(Enlightened) shareholder value is a widespread opinion among legal scholars and lawmakers in Switzerland. In other countries, we observe today a clear shift in favor of stakeholder governance. In this article, we advocate that shareholders are one among several constituencies that make possible the achievement of corporate purpose. Hence, corporate law and practice should promote corporate…

Good Corporate Governance: Von der Zielsetzung zur Unternehmens­organisation – am Beispiel des neuen Aktienrechts

The authors start out by noting that the term and discussion around corporate governance developed from a technical designation without content to a concept of «good» corporate governance that increasingly prescribes the ways, not the goals of corporate governance. Likewise, the question whether a corporate governance system is good or bad is not measured in light of its efficiency in achieving…

Automatisierte Entscheidungen: Perspektive Grundrechte

Automated decisions affect the legal system in a wide variety of areas. In a state governed by the rule of law, fundamental rights are of great importance; their ­validity can lead to a conflict with «results» produced by algorithms. The article examines five areas (employment relationships, biomedical «environment», moderation of online content, financial markets, procedural guarantees) and,…

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…

Editorial

Am 28. August 2019 fand die 11. Tagung «Quo Vadis – Finanzplatz Schweiz?» unter einem neuen leitenden Team, bestehend aus Rolf Sethe und Christoph B. ­Bühler, statt. Sie haben übernommen von Peter…

Förderung der ökologischen und sozialen Verantwortung durch den Bund im öffentlichen Beschaffungswesen und in der Privatwirtschaft

The Federal government has committed itself to setting a good example in the Sustainable Development Strategy 2016–2019 and in the 2030 Agenda. Sustainable development is a constitutional mandate that must also be taken into consideration in public procurement procedures. The pressure from parliamentarians seems to be bearing fruit and accordingly, as part of the total revision of the Swiss…

Sharing Economy: Zur sozialversicherungsrechtlichen Beurteilung von ­Plattform-Beschäftigten

Driven by digitalisation and the Sharing Economy, the way in which work is performed is changing. Platforms that provide work or carry it out themselves are becoming increasingly important, as are the associated unresolved legal issues. From the perspective of social security law, the question arises as to whether platform workers are self-employed or employed by platforms. Since all platforms…

Ist die neue Finanzmarkt­regulierung funktionsfähig?

The article describes the causes of financial market crises. It assesses the advantages and disadvantages of the legislative measures taken since the crisis of 2007/­2008. Finally, it outlines what additional or alternative measures could be taken to increase the stability of the financial markets and to improve supervision.

Global agieren, lokal profitieren – und keine Verantwortung?

The debate about responsible business conduct has gained new momentum in Switzerland due to the responsible business initiative («Konzernverantwortungsinitiative») which triggered the drafting of a counter-­proposal by the National Council in the context of the ongoing revision of the company law. This contribution situates this debate in the relevant international con­text. The analysis’ focus…

Pflichten des Verwaltungsrats einer möglichen Zielgesellschaft

Even though the shareholders are the addressees of a takeover bid, the sale process of a listed target company is largely determined by the target’s board of directors: The board of directors is responsible for the negotiations prior to the publication of a takeover bid and can often influence by its actions whether a (possibly un­friendly) takeover bid will occur. Of decisive importance for the…

Wie die Arbeit, so der Lohn – Vergütung in privaten und kotierten Gesellschaften

Rising executive pay is a vital topic for shareholders, proxy advisors, academics and the wider public. It is worth noting that the remuneration of auditors for their audit services has hardly attracted shareholder attention even though falling audit fees may be a reason for weaknesses in corporate control. In this perspective it looks like an anomaly that the remuneration of the party…

Die virtuelle Generalversammlung

On November 23, 2016, the Federal Council published its proposal for a revised law on companies limited by shares. This article deals with the virtual general assembly, one of the key aspects in the pursued modernisation of the general assembly in the context of the proposed revision. First, it addresses the proposed amendments regarding the virtual general assembly. Second, the article analyzes…

Die Zukunft des digitalisierten Rechnungswesens

The digitization of economics does not only effect parts on an entity but the entire value chain, notably inclusive of the accounting department. Should we have to expect a revolution in such a way that millions of bookkeepers will be replaced by machines in the near-future? Or do these new technologies have the potential to automate routine tasks while supporting more complex, non-routine…

Vertrauen im Kapitalmarkt

Trust is an essential element of a capital market. The market participants want to be confident that the other actors behave as expected. Financial market regulation supports the underlying expectations by ensuring transparency, prohibiting market abuses, stipulating various duties and imposing sanctions or liability in the event of breach. The objectives of most regulation, i.e., the protection…

Vertrauen, Kredit und Kreditsicherheiten

The relationship between creditor and debtor has often been described as a quintessential relationship based on trust, as evidenced by etymological origin of the term credit. Credit relationships are indeed shaped by the risk of opportunistic behavior of the debtor and principal agent problems. Limiting these risks by providing adequate incentives for cooperative behavior is a key objective in…

Die regulatorische Antwort auf FinTech: Evolution oder Revolution? Eine Verortung aktueller Entwicklungen

While technological improvements have shaped the financial industry and its regulation for decades, FinTech is the buzzword of the hour. Rapidly developing digital technologies allow new market entrants to disrupt the traditional intermediary-based provision of financial services (I.). These new businesses – in particular those that operate payment systems or engage in crowdfunding – may clash…

Corporate Social Responsibility

The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility demands that companies comply with ethical standards with regard to human rights and the protection of the environment wherever they are active and that they, in general, respect the interests of society at large in their business. This concept is promoted by the UN in the UN Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights. While Swiss law obliges…

Crowdlending als bewilligungspflichtige Entgegennahme von ­Publikumseinlagen

Die A. AG (mittlerweile: A. AG in Liquidation; nachfolgend: A. AG) ist eine Aktiengesellschaft mit Sitz in A. Seit 2013 bietet die A. AG interessierten Kunden die Möglichkeit eines «Direktinvestments…

Kernfragen der Aktienrechtsrevision

On November 23, 2016, the Federal Council published its proposal for a revised law on companies limited by shares. This article deals with four key aspects of the proposed revision. First, it addresses the proposed amendments regar­ding the capital structure. The authors thereby focus on the rules for capital increases, decreases and the possibility to introduce a so called «capital band». Secon…

Corporate Governance auf der Blockchain

It is within the context of crypto-currencies that Blockchain first gained importance as a new technology. In the meantime, it has been recognized that this technology can also be used in the corporate environment. Such usage would have significant effects on corporate governance within companies (for example, in connection with the transparency of ownership, the handling of voting rights,…

Konzernorganisationsrecht 2.0

The premise of this article is that the law of corporate groups is, in essence, business organisation law. The departure point is the observation that the function of the corporate group relates primarily to the overcoming of entrepreneurial problems that economic globalisation has brought, and continues to bring, forth. In order to do justice to this economic reality, the law must provide the…

Konzernverantwortungsinitiative: Grenzenlose Verantwortlichkeit?

This article discusses a recently launched popular initiative, that aims at ensuring that companies domiciled in Switzerland respect human rights and environmental standards in their activities worldwide. To achieve this objective binding due diligence obligations for companies shall be anchored in the Swiss constitution. An in-depth analysis of the proposed provision and the explanations thereto…

Ist die aktienrechtliche Verantwortlichkeit noch zeitgemäss?

An analysis of the board members’ and directors’ liability law shows that its present form has significant deficits: Confronting board members with a liability excee­ding their individual risk capacity causes risk adversity and a crowding out effect within the pool of potential board members. In the light of these functional deficits, it does not come as a surprise that the track record of…

Gleichstellung – Ein aktienrechtliches Thema

Article 734e of the Preliminary Draft demands that each gender is represented with at least 30% of the members of the board of directors and the executive committee of large listed companies. Companies that do not comply with this obligation must describe the reasons for such failure and the measures they will take to advance the underrepresented gender in their compensation reports. Although the…

Editorial | Éditorial

Corporate Social Responsibility – kurz CSR – ist der­zeit eines der Brennpunktthemen in der internationalen Unternehmenswelt. Soziale Verantwortung auch für Firmen also. Wie weit soll das gehen und…

The Evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility

Is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) a matter of law? Despite the fact that the role of national states is being increasingly impinged upon by the process of globalization, the prevailing notion of law today continues to be based on the maintenance of the stability of the existing national structures. The function of law is still seen as consisting primarily in shielding expectations from the…