Newsletter 641: FinSO and FinIO – the final stage

Dear Sir or Madam,

We would like to update you about the most recent developments and expected decisions regarding the implementation of the provisions of FinSA and FinIA.

The ordinnances are very close to be published. It is planned that the Federal Council at its meeting on 6 November 2019 will pass the enactments and publish them on the same day. Already now, the State Secretariat for International Finance SIF has informed on 9 September 2019 about its recommendation to the Federal Council with regards to certain final amendments of the ordinnances.

While the ordinnances will only be finalized and published on 6 November 2019, namely the following essential points can be expected and the following amendments are very realistic:

- Both the laws as well as their respective ordinnances will come into force on 1 January 2020

- The rules of conduct for asset manager which are currently governed through the BOVV-rules (the industry organisation for asset manager) and which will newly be regulated in FinSA and its respective ordinnance FinSO shall come into force after a transition period of newly two years. Until this period is over, financial intermediaries are allowed to abide to the known rules of the CISA as well as the stock exchange act

- The threshold for a duty of separation between operations and an (independent) controlling body shall be raised

- The threshold for a duty of separation between risk management and internal control shall be raised

- The requirements regarding the education and trainings of qualified managers/directors are governed in more detail

VQF will provide you with more explanations and details to relevant aspects of these new obligations in the upcoming issue of VQF Aktuell (in German).

Furthermore, we would like to draw your attention to the upcoming VQF-Fall-Event on 6 November 2019 as well as the VQF-Academy-Information-Convention on 27 November 2019. VQF will then inform about the application as well as the implementation of the new rules for financial intermediaries and will also provide you with information about the planned Supervisory Organization of the VQF group. Further information for both events will be provided shortly via the VQF-Newsletter.

Kind regards,

VQF
Financial Services Standards Association