The Swiss Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter and the British Chancellor Jeremy Hunt have signed the “Berne Financial Services Agreement” to bring the two financial centers closer together. The agreement aims to strengthen competitiveness and promote close cooperation between Switzerland and Great Britain in the areas of banking, securities services, insurance, asset management, and financial market infrastructures for professional clients.
One of the key provisions of the agreement is the recognition of equivalence, which allows Swiss providers to engage in cross-border business activities, particularly in asset management. This concession has been a long-standing demand from the local financial industry. As a result, British private clients with assets over 2 million pounds will now be able to be served directly by Swiss providers across borders.
In the insurance sector, the agreement covers specific areas of non-life insurance business for large corporate clients. British insurance companies will have the opportunity to operate cross-border in these areas, while Swiss companies can provide cross-border insurance services for large corporate clients under applicable British law.
The agreement also confirms the existing access for advertising and offering collective investment schemes, as well as the delegation of portfolio management and risk management in asset management. Additionally, financial market infrastructures, such as exchanges, are recognized as equivalent.
Unlike the EU, which allowed the recognition of Swiss stock exchange equivalence to expire in 2019, this agreement ensures continued access to Swiss trading for stock traders from Great Britain. The negotiation process for the agreement lasted for more than two years, and it now awaits approval from the parliaments of both countries before coming into effect.
The Swiss business federation Economiesuisse views the agreement as progress, citing its regulatory simplifications and sectoral market access for cross-border services. It believes that the agreement has a clearly positive benefit and strengthens the local financial center in economically uncertain times.
The Swiss Bankers Association (SBVg), the Association of Asset Managers (AMAS), and the…
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| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Geography | Europe |
| Countries | 🇨🇭 🇬🇧 |
| Sentiment | positive |
| Relevance Score | 1 |
| People | Karin Keller-Sutter, Jeremy Hunt |
| Companies | Schweizerische Bankiervereinigung (SBVg), Verband der Vermögensverwalter (AMAS), Börsenbetreiberin SIX, Economiesuisse, Eidgenössisches Finanzdepartement (EFD) |
| Currencies | None |
| Securities | None |
