Federal Council opens consultation on amendment of Finmag
Published: Friday, Sep 20th 2024, 12:10
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The Federal Council wants to modernize the legal framework for international cooperation in the financial market sector and adapt it to the needs of the financial centre. It has opened a consultation on this.
With the consultation draft adopted on Friday, the Federal Council is proposing various amendments to the Financial Market Supervision Act (FinMag), the Auditor Oversight Act (AOA) and the National Bank Act (NBA). The consultation will last until January 3, 2025.
For example, in the administrative assistance procedure of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA, the right to be heard and the right of appeal in the client procedure are to be completely or partially abolished. As an alternative, a restriction is proposed for offenses such as market abuse and money laundering. This would minimize "direct risks" for the markets.
Furthermore, FINMA should be able to request audits of non-supervised foreign companies and, under certain conditions, allow foreign supervisory authorities to conduct such audits in Switzerland. And a new legal basis is intended to strengthen cooperation between FINMA and the SNB in international recognition and audit procedures.
The Federal Council also plans to specify the direct cross-border transfer of information by supervised financial service providers. This will increase legal certainty for the institutions and their employees.
Finally, the legal framework of the Audit Supervision Act should be brought closer to that of the Financial Market Supervision Act with regard to international cooperation.
The State Secretariat for International Financial Matters (SIF) argues that the Federal Council's proposals would strengthen Switzerland's reputation and global role as a financial center.
©Keystone/SDA
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