Blog

The new prospectus regime, including its exemptions, is also applicable to bonds and convertible bonds issued in Switzerland. But even if an exemption to publish a prospectus would apply, there are still some important specialities to be taken into consideration concerning bond offerings in Switzerland and in particular regarding convertible bonds.

The new prospectus regime, including its exemptions, is also applicable to bonds and convertible bonds issued in Switzerland. But even if an exemption to publish a prospectus would apply, there are still some important specialities to be taken into consideration in relation to bond offerings in Switzerland and in particular to convertible bonds.

The Swiss Federal Council initiated a consultation on an amendment of the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes (CISA), aiming to introduce a new, unregulated fund category called "Limited Qualified Investor Fund (L-QIF)", reserved exclusively for qualified investors. By introducing the L-QIF, Switzerland establishes a Swiss fund category similar to the Luxembourg Reserved Alternative Investment Fund (RAIF) or the Malta Notified Alternative Investment Fund (NAIF). The consultation of the Federal Council will last until 17 October 2019.

In this episode of LexCast hosted by Froriep, Mark Montanari talks with Cornelia Mattig about the newly proposed amendment of the Collective Investment Schemes Act by the Federal Council. The changes are intended to create a new fund category called Limited Qualified Investor Fund. This Fund would not need an authorisation or approval from FINMA nor would it be supervised by FINMA.

In the framework of the proposed general revision of Swiss corporate law, the Federal Council intends to overhaul the existing restructuring regime for distressed companies. The objective of the effort is to create incentives for distressed companies to take the necessary restructuring measures as early as possible and, by doing so, avoid bankruptcy.

The rapid evolution in FinTech has not only attracted the attention of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) but eventually pushed the Swiss government to propose FinTech specific amendments to the Banking Act and other financial laws. On 1 February 2017 the Federal Council opened a consultation on new draft regulations designed to reduce barriers to entry for FinTech firms and to strengthen the attractiveness of the Swiss financial markets.