SWISS FINANCE LAW AND INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

Update

Peter Nobel

Stämpfli Publishers Ltd., Berne, 2005

Update of January 2005

Forward

Finance law is in a constant state of flux and Swiss Finance Law, which continues to be a subject of interest and concern to more and more people, has been rapidly developing to accommodate international changes in the field. As a service to the reader, I have thus decided to present an update of "Swiss Finance Law and International Standards" on the Internet. This update provides a selection of the more important and relevant Swiss and International law developments in finance market law since the 2002 publication. The updated paragraphs are set forth below with lettered paragraphs corresponding to those in the individual chapters (e.g., § 6 N 24a, §6 N 24b etc.); when following from the end of a chapter, new paragraphs are numbered.

Among the new developments included herein are the following:

• The FSSA (Financial System Stability Assessment) Report, published in Spring 2002 (§3 N 105a et seq.);

• The WTO´s Fifth Ministerial Conference held in Cancún, 10 to 14 September 2003. (§ 4 N 62b et seq.);

• The July 2004 report and first draft for a Federal Act on Dormant Assets to the Federal Finance Department (§ 5 N 56a);

• The June 2004, European Commission´s tenth and final progress report (completing almost all legislative measures in the FSAP) (§6 N 26a);

• The new EU Directive 2004/39/EC on Markets in Financial Instruments, (§ 6 N 92a);

• The recently enacted (1 May 2004) Federal Act on the Swiss National Bank (NBA) (§ 8 N 60a);

• The July 2003 Zimmerli Commission (first) report on an integrated financial market regulator, together with the draft for a Federal Law on Financial Market Supervision (FINMAG) (§ 9 118b);

• The November 2002 draft and report of the Swiss Federal Council concerning revision of the banking law applicable to bankruptcy and restructuring of banks as well as to depositor protection and a discussion of the new BankA provisions (with parliamentary approval of 3 October 2002;entry into force on 1 July 2004) (§ 10 N 202a);

• New provisions on the supervision of systems for clearing and settlement into the new National Bank Act of 3 October 2003 and the subsequent amendments to the BankA and the SESTA (§ 12 N 68a); the ongoing consolidation in the field of stock exchanges (chapter 12 N 39b, 41a), clearing and settlement organizations (§ 12 N 64a);

• The new national (§ 13 N 29a and N 34a) and international (§ 13 N 3a, 27a and 28a) directives, standards and reports in the area of corporate governance;

• The new Federal Act on Merger, De-merger, Transformation and Transfer of Assets, entry into force on 1 July 2004 (§ 13 N 221a);

• The November 2003 pre-draft for a revised fund legislation (revision of the Federal Act on Investment Funds IFA) extending the Act´s scope (§ 14 N 88 et seq.);

• Art. 100quater paras 1 and 2 of the Swiss Penal Code, effective October 2003,increasing the potential for corporate liability in criminal matters (§ 15 N 111a).

E-Mail:

peter.nobel@uni-sg.ch

§ 2

Facts and Figures

53

§ 3

The Bretton Woods Institutions and Swiss Participation

16a

18a

47a

60a

61a

63a

74a

76a

95a

105a

105b

§4

WTO, GATS and the Participation of Switzerland

1a

9a

10a

11a

62a

62b

62c

62d

§5

Switzerland and the Dispute on Holocaust-Related Claims, 1996-2005

40a

49a

56a

58a

59a

§6

European Union Financial Services Law

22a

24a

24b

26a

50a

50b

50c

65a

65b

66a

81a

82a

85a

92a

92b

100a

101a

109a

109b

109c

109d

113a

113b

126a

128-129a

128-129b

130a

131-135a

136a

136b

137a

140a

140b

140c

141a

160a

163a

164a

165a

166a

167a

167b

168a

§7

International Initiatives for Enhanced Cooperation and International Standards (BIS, IOSCO, Joint Forum)

1a

13a

14a

39a

51a

54a

63a

91a

102a

105a

111a

111b

111c

111d

111e

111f

112a

115a

123a

134a

146a

146b

146c

146d

§8

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) and the Monetary System

1a

2a

3a

4a

4b

34a

41a

60a

64a

64b

64c

§9

The Federal Banking Commission (FBC) as a Financial Market Supervisory Authority

1a

7a

8a

8b

9a

16a

27a

27b

27c

27d

39a

43a

51a

51b

54a

57a

69a

70a

74a

79a

84a

100a

103a

103b

118a

118b

118c

118d

118e

123a

124a

128a

130a

169a

§ 10

Banks and Banking Supervision

6a

7a

13a

19a

20a

21a

21b

21c

24a

27a

33a

36a

42a

42b

42c

81a

85a

85b

105a

105b

170a

202a

221a

245a

246a

246b

262a

269a

269b

§11

The Federal Act on Stock Exchanges and Securities Trading (Overview and Organization of Authorities)

17a

17b

17c

21a

29a

45a

§12

Stock Exchange Alliances: Towards a Pan-European Capital Market

28a

28b

34a

34b

36a

39a

41a

41b

42a

64a

66a

68a

68b

70a

70b

70c

75a

§13

The Corporation as a Financial Vehicle in the Capital Market (Issuer)

3a

23a

27a

28a

29a

34a

38a

82a

91a

94a

120a

126a

140a

151a

175a

221a

226a

231a

238a

243a et seq.

257a et seq.

270a et seq.

306a

307a

308a

309a

§14

The Legislation on Investment Funds

1a

2a

5a

5b

16a

19a

28a

30a

38a

59a

59b

77a

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

98

99

100

§15

Criminal Law Protection of the Financial Market

1a

12a

14-15a

20-27a

45a

58a

67a

75a

85a

102a

111a

Swiss Finance Law and International Standards

§ 2 Facts and Figures

53

The more recent statistics of significance with regard to facts and figures in connection with Swiss Finance law and International Standards are found in the following sources:

-SWISS NATIONAL BANK (SNB), 96th Annual Report, 2003,
www.snb.ch/d/download/bericht03/e/gb2003.pdf;

-SNB, The Banks in Switzerland 2003, Bern 2003,
www.snb.ch/e/publikationen/publi.html;

-SWX, Geschäftsbericht (annual report) 2002, Zürich 2003; monthly reports (including those for 2004) are available at www.swx.com/market/downloads_monthly_04_en.html; and

-INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT (IMD), IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2003, available through www02.imd.ch/wcc/.

(For further information concerning the above, see also www.imd.ch; www.swx.ch; www.snb.ch)

§ 3 The Bretton Woods Institutions and Swiss Participation

16a

The current director is Rodrigo de Rato y Figaredo (since 7 June 2004)

18a

On 15 July 2004, SDR 1 corresponded to USD 1.48 (see The International Monetary Fund SDR Valuation, 15 July 2004, p. 1, www.imf.org/external/np/tre/sdr/basket.htm. The value of the SDR in USD is calculated and posted daily on this web site).