(Financial) servicesFederal Council removes EU from stock exchange protection list
SDA
29.1.2025 - 12:06
The Federal Council has removed the EU from the stock exchange protection list as of 1 May. This was issued in 2019 in response to the non-recognition of the equivalence of the Swiss stock exchange SIX. Due to a revision in the EU, the measure is no longer valid, the government announced. (Archive image)
Keystone
The Federal Council has lifted the protective measures for Swiss stock exchanges vis-à-vis the EU. The measure has lapsed due to a revision of the corresponding legal basis in the EU.
Keystone-SDA
29.01.2025, 12:06
29.01.2025, 13:05
SDA
As of May 1, 2025, the EU will no longer be on Switzerland's stock exchange protection list. This was decided by the Federal Council at its meeting on Wednesday. The Federal Council originally introduced the stock market protection measure in 2019 in response to the EU's decision not to extend stock market equivalence.
The aim was to protect the Swiss stock exchange. As the EU has since revised the relevant legal basis, this measure is no longer necessary.
The EU already amended the relevant legal basis in spring 2024. As a result, the restrictions on EU investment firms trading Swiss shares have been lifted. The criterion of "significant impairment" in trading Swiss equity securities is therefore no longer met.
An overall assessment had shown that the effect of the Swiss protective measures vis-à-vis the EU was currently no longer necessary. In individual cases, they had even led to negative effects for Swiss companies, for example in the case of mergers with EU companies.
As part of the talks with the EU Commission on the framework agreement, the regulatory dialog in the financial market sector was resumed with the EU in summer 2024, according to the press release. Due to the great importance of the cross-border private client business for the Swiss financial centre, Switzerland continues to strive for recognition of equivalence and improvements in market access for financial service providers with the EU.