Insights

After thorough negotiations, the Berne Financial Services Agreement (BFSA), also known as Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) has been signed on 21 December 2023 by the UK and Switzerland. It will be likely soon ratified. Setting a milestone in the mutual recognition of financial market regulation the BFSA opens and refreshes cross-border market access for financial institutions in each of the two countries. We explain the BFSA and how you can make the most of it for your business.

The aviation industry has been significantly impacted by the disruption and travel restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. With a huge portion of the global fleet of passenger aircraft sitting idle and airlines, lessors, airports and support businesses facing a drop in revenues, we look at the steps businesses can take to survive and adapt.

The new Swiss financial market regulation has been in force since the beginning of 2020. What are the initial experiences and findings of this change in practice? What are the major challenges for asset managers, investment advisors, representatives and fund management companies? Veronika Britt, Senior Manager in Audit Financial Services at Grant Thornton Switzerland/Liechtenstein, discussed the implementation of the FIDLEG and FINIG in an interview with the B2B editorial team, and advises independent asset managers to be well-positioned within the framework of the new regulatory conditions, with regard to the instruction system and risk management, and to conduct a limited audit.

On 1 January 2020, the Financial Institutions Act (FINIG) and the Financial Services Act (FIDLEG) will enter into force. They are specified by ordinances, published by the Federal Council on 6 November 2019. For the implementation of the new requirements that will apply to asset managers, there are various transition periods. We are happy to support you efficiently to implement the new regulatory requirements.

Bitcoin, distributed ledger technology (Blockchain or DLT), cryptocurrencies, tokens, wallets, public & private keys. The relative importance of these new terms stands in contrast to the vocabulary used previously in the financial world. A bridge thus needs to be built between these recent developments and long-standing definitions. The industry is increasingly concerned with the following key issues:

Client onboarding by way of correspondence requires stringent identity checks. Since the client is physically absent, the copy of the passport needs to be certified by a public notary. In many cases, such notarisation needs to be legalised by an apostille under the Hague Convention. This results in complicated and expensive onboarding activities. Also, financial institutions still run quite high risks because the passport and certifications can still be falsified.

Grant Thornton Switzerland/Liechtenstein is presenting itself as a sponsoring partner at this year’s Finance Forum Liechtenstein. The conference networks some 600 decision-makers from the financial sector and offers top-class speakers, interesting workshops and attractive networking platforms.

Antonio Donni in an interview with B2B New financial market law: Time is of the essence! The regulatory environment of the Swiss financial market is soon to undergo a radical change. The driving force is the European Union that created numerous new regulatory requirements in the wake of the last major financial market crisis. The wave of re-regulation also recently reached the Swiss financial and fund centre. Activities are now no longer possible without laws, regulations, government approvals and specific supervisory and audit regimes. The aim of this expert discussion in the B2B magazine is to point out the reforms in financial market law and the possible challenges entailed in their implementation. The following experts are taking part in the discussion:

Bitcoin transactions are based on Blockchain technology, which is said to be able to conduct anonymous transactions using pseudonyms. Although these pseudonyms do not contain any immediately evident personal data, this does not mean that data protection regulations can be disregarded for sensitive or very sensitive personal data. Since 2010/2011, it has been known that the identities behind bitcoin pseudonyms can be determined. Data contained in the transaction history can thus be attributed to actual people. Providers of Blockchain-based cryptocurrency transactions must therefore implement the new EU General Data Protection Regulation (“EU GDPR”) by the end of May 2018 and take account of the planned reforms to the Swiss Data Protection Act (“DSG”). e industries.

Grant Thornton Switzerland/Liechtenstein is appearing as a gold sponsoring partner at this year’s FinTech Conference in Liechtenstein. This attractive platform offers inspiring talks, workshops and various networking opportunities to financial service providers in Liechtenstein – now for the third year in a row.