Insights

In the "Finance Forum Zürich" special edition of the Handelszeitung of 26 June 2025, Fabian Schmid, Head of Regulatory & Compliance Financial Services, analyzes current developments in the Swiss financial market. He explains why Switzerland is well positioned from a regulatory perspective yet still faces important reform needs.

As part of the review of the Credit Suisse crisis, on 6 June 2025 the Federal Council set out the key parameters for comprehensive amendments to laws and ordinances aimed at further developing the existing regulatory and supervisory system in a targeted manner. The aim is to strengthen the financial centre and significantly reduce the risks for the government, taxpayers and the economy as a whole in the event of future crises.

Grant Thornton Advisors LLC (Grant Thornton Advisors) today announced agreements to expand the multinational platform it formed in January with Grant Thornton Ireland. The platform will now include Grant Thornton Switzerland/Liechtenstein and Grant Thornton in the Channel Islands (known as Grant Thornton Limited, Channel Islands).

SAP transformations can be complex, risky and often present unexpected challenges for organisations. A lack of strategy, limited resources, dependence on implementation partners and unclear architecture decisions often lead to delays and risks.

Sanction and embargo regulations have gained massive relevance in recent years – both from a regulatory and operational perspective. Global crises, secondary sanction risks and geopolitically motivated restrictions are increasingly affecting Swiss financial intermediaries. While the legal situation is continuously evolving, regulatory authorities are raising their expectations for active management of sanction-related risks.

The FINMA circular on conduct obligations under the Financial Services Act (FinSA) came into force on 1 January 2025, in some cases with a transitional period until 30 June 2025. There is room for interpretation and uncertainty regarding the implementation of many of the provisions of the new circular. We summarise the most important challenges.

Have you ever considered what lies beneath the surface of a company’s financial performance and what is the real story behind the figures?

The Federal Council wants to ratify the Council of Europe's AI Convention What challenges will the financial sector face?

he EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) has been fully applicable since 30 December 2024. The new legal framework standardises the EU market rules in the area of crypto assets and thus strengthens market and financial stability as well as investor protection.

Investitionen in Private Markets haben in den letzten Jahren auch in der Schweiz stark an Bedeutung gewonnen. Der regulatorische Rahmen sollte mit dieser Entwicklung Schritt halten.

After the AI Act came into force in the EU in August last year, AI regulation in Switzerland is now also becoming more concrete.

The accounting treatment of waiver income is crucial for determining its exemption from Swiss corporate income tax. Recently, the Swiss federal tax authorities issued a new circular letter (number 32a) addressing the financial restructuring of corporations and cooperatives. According to this guidance, waiver income from shareholders that is directly recorded in the company’s equity should always be exempt from Swiss corporate income tax.

Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) annually publishes recognized interest rates applicable for tax assessments of advances and loans in Swiss francs and in foreign currencies.

A VAT Health Check ensures that a company’s value-added tax obligations are correctly fulfilled and associated compliance risks are minimized. The analysis identifies potential weaknesses in VAT processes and classifications, offering opportunities to optimize and reduce risks while achieving more efficient tax management.

Switzerland suspends the application of the most-favoured-nation clause based on a protocol to the tax treaty between Switzerland and India. Dividend distributions from Switzerland to India until December 31, 2024, will still benefit from this clause.

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has finalised and published the circular on rules of conduct under the Financial Services Act (FinSA). This will enter into force on 1 January 2025 and aims to create uniform standards for the provision of information and support to clients in the financial services sector. There is a transitional period until 30 June 2025 for the implementation of certain requirements. The circular was discussed intensively during the consultation and criticised by industry representatives. FINMA has taken up various points from the consultation and amended them in the final version but has retained all the essential core content of the draft.