Amended Disclosure Regime For Major Shareholdings

In connection with the overhaul of Swiss financial market regulations, the rules on the disclosure of substantial shareholdings were recast into the Federal Act on Financial Markets Infrastructures of 19 June 2015 ("FMIA"). In September 2015, FINMA opened a hearing regarding its implementing ordinance ("FMIO-FINMA"). The final version of FMIO-FINMA was published on 9 December 2015. The new rules will enter into force on 1 January 2016 subject to a three-months transition period. To a large extent, they are a restatement of the existing regime. However, they provide for a number of changes that may have important implications for market participants.

A New Statutory Basis for Disclosure Duties