Switzerland: A Banking & Finance: Regulatory Overview

Background

Switzerland maintains its role as a global leader in banking and finance, blending its storied tradition of stability with cutting-edge innovation. In 2026, we delve into certain hot topics shaping the sector, offering insights into how these changes are enhancing Switzerland’s appeal while ensuring its adherence to the highest international standards.

Banking Regulatory Framework

Overhaul of regulatory regime

On 10 April 2024, the Federal Council published a report on banking stability that proposed several measures following the Credit Suisse crisis. Key areas include:

• corporate governance;
• capital requirements;
• early intervention;
• liquidity in crisis scenarios; and
• resolution planning.

The proposed actions focus on enhancing corporate governance laws, introducing a senior managers regime and improving variable compensation regulations. Additionally, the report suggests stricter capital requirements for parent banks, enhanced regulatory early-intervention powers and more robust liquidity management. The Federal Council also recommends diversifying resolution strategies and improving bail-in procedures to ensure financial stability and minimise the likelihood of state intervention. Measures rejected by the Federal Council include higher leverage ratios and deposit withdrawal restrictions.

On 26 September 2025, the Federal Council opened the first consultation process relating to the Swiss banking framework, proposing amendments to the Banking Act and the Capital Adequacy Ordinance. The amendments would require systemically important banks in Switzerland to fully back their holdings in foreign subsidiaries with equity capital in the future. The capital adequacy requirement would increase continuously over a period of seven years. The consultation period ended on 9 January 2026. The Federal Council has yet to publish the final rules, which, in the case of the amendments to the Banking Act, will be voted on by the Swiss Parliament.

Fintech/crypto regulations

Switzerland provides for a robust and clear regulatory framework for fintech companies, crypto custodians and staking providers based on two principles: (i) “substance over form” and (ii) “same business same rules”.

The supervisory activities of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) in the fintech and crypto-area is aimed at balancing innovation with investor protection and market integrity. Fintech companies may benefit from a special “fintech licence” that allows for certain regulatory facilitations to promote technological advancement, and also allows for deposit-taking of up to CHF100 million. Crypto custodians are required to comply with anti-money laundering regulations, but are otherwise unregulated if the custody is structured in a manner that ensures that a client’s crypto-assets can be segregated in the event of the bankruptcy of the custodian. For staking providers, the regulatory status and treatment depend on the specific way such staking is performed. FINMA’s guidance offers details on these matters, reflecting Switzerland’s commitment to fostering a secure and innovative financial sector.

On 22 October 2025, the Federal Council opened the consultation process on an amendment to the Financial Institutions Act which will, if enacted, set-out a comprehensive new regulatory regime applicable to fintech and crypto-related business models. The Federal Council’s consultation draft provides for the following main proposals:

Introduction of a payment institution licence

The new licensing category for payment institutions will, if introduced, replace the existing “fintech licence”, with specific changes made to improve attractiveness and customer protection. For example, customer funds can be segregated in favour of the clients in the event of the institution’s bankruptcy – ie, the client funds will not form part of the bankruptcy estate. In addition, the existing limit on the acceptance of customer funds of up to a maximum threshold of CHF100 million will be abolished, which should enable these institutions to grow and benefit from economies of scale. As proposed, payment institutions will also be allowed to issue a special type of stablecoin, subject to specific obligations and anti-money laundering due diligence requirements (see also below).

Introduction of a crypto institution licence

The new licensing of crypto institutions is based on the securities firm licence, but – as proposed – is not as strict, as crypto institutions do not provide services involving financial instruments. Crypto institutions and other institutions that provide services involving cryptocurrencies will also have to meet certain requirements to avoid conflicts of interest.

Regulatory framework for the issuance of stablecoins

Under the consultation draft, the Federal Council also proposes the introduction of a dedicated regulatory regime for “Swiss stablecoins” (ie,, tokens that are pegged to a currency and redeemable) issued in Switzerland. Pursuant to the Federal Council’s proposal, only payment institutions would be permitted to issue value-stable, blockchain-based tokens, requiring full backing by high-quality liquid assets, segregated reserves, redemption rights for holders, and advance notification to FINMA. Under the Federal Council’s proposal, regulated Swiss banks would not be permitted to issue stablecoins but would rather have to establish a separate subsidiary licensed as payment institution to engage in stablecoin-related issuing activities. This exemption of banks from the new regulatory regime has been subject to considerable criticism by various financial market participants and industry organisations during the consultation process.

Crypto-related financial services

Finally, the draft legislation provides for an extension of certain information, conduct and organisational requirements set-out under the Federal Act on Financial Services to financial services relating to crypto-assets. Additionally, if crypto-assets are publicly offered in Switzerland, a white paper satisfying certain statutory requirements would have to be made available in Switzerland

The consultation ended on 6 February 2026. The Federal Council has yet to publish the final rules, which will be voted on by the Swiss Parliament. Overall, Switzerland appears to be moving from a largely function-based approach (applying existing laws) toward a dedicated framework that seeks to balance innovation in token-based payments with financial stability, consumer protection and AML concerns.

Improvement of the Swiss anti-money laundering (AML) framework

On 22 May 2024, the Federal Council adopted a bill on the development of the AML framework which seeks to reinforce the integrity and competitiveness of Switzerland as a business hub. Key elements are:

• A transparency register for beneficial owners of legal entities shall be established, aimed at enhancing law enforcement’s ability to uncover ownership structures (see also below).
• (Legal) advisers involved in high-risk advisory activities (such as corporate structuring or real estate transactions) will be required to adhere to certain AML (due diligence) duties and will become subject to AML supervision by a self-regulatory organisation.
• Other measures address sanctions evasion and diligence for certain cash transactions.

On 7 October 2025, the final version of the Federal Act on the Transparency of Legal Entities (LETA) was published. The LETA will introduce the transparency register referred to above and is expected to enter into effect during 2026. Pursuant to the LETA, Swiss legal entities will be required to identify their beneficial owners and obtain and record their first and last name, date of birth, nationality, address and country of residence, as well as the nature and extent of their control over the legal entity and notify such information to the transparency register. The introduction of the transparency register will also have implications on the KYC processes of Swiss financial intermediaries. Pursuant to the LETA, financial intermediaries will be given the right to access the transparency register (which is otherwise not public) in order to verify the information obtained in the context of their KYC procedures relating to the beneficial owner under a relevant client relationship. Therefore, under the duty to identify the beneficial owner under Article 4 of the Swiss Anti-Money Laundering Act, going forward, financial intermediaries will need to consult the relevant information contained in the transparency register to adequately satisfy their AML-related due diligence duties. Further, financial intermediaries, will be subject to a notification requirement towards the transparency register to the extent the financial intermediary determines that the UBO-related information received from its clients and the corresponding information set out in the transparency register differ.

AI regulation

The Swiss regulatory framework does not comprehensively govern the use of AI by regulated financial institutions. FINMA views AI as subject to existing rules on governance, operational risk, data quality, outsourcing and risk management. Supervisory communications highlight explainability, human oversight, robust validation, bias testing, data lineage and incident management as core expectations. Whilst the use of AI is not specifically governed under Swiss law, FINMA has published its regulatory expectations relating to the use of AI by financial institutions:

Governance and responsibility

Clear roles and responsibilities and risk management processes must be defined and implemented. The responsibility for decisions cannot be delegated to AI or third parties. Everyone involved must have sufficient expertise in AI. Therefore, use of third-party or generative models should be managed through rigorous vendor risk frameworks and secure development practices, with board-level oversight of material deployments

Robustness and reliability

When developing, training, and using AI, institutions need to ensure that the results are sufficiently accurate, robust, and reliable. Both the data and the models as well as the results need to be open to critical questioning.

Transparency and explicability

Institutions must ensure that the results of an AI-based application are explicable and the use of the application is transparent, taking into account the recipient, the relevance of the AI use and the process integration.

Non-discrimination

Institutions must avoid unjust discrimination, for example, when assessing individual risk profiles in lending approval procedures