Banking Regulation 2021 - Switzerland: Trends & Developments

Reverse Solicitation in Switzerland

Reverse solicitation designates the circumstances in which a financial intermediary provides certain services to a client upon the latter's request, without prior solicitation by the financial intermediary. Where the financial intermediary can rely on reverse solicitation, it generally avoids licensing requirements and regulatory duties.

The concept is not specific to Swiss law. For instance, EU law defines reverse solicitation in article 42 of MiFID II (EU Directive3 2014/65 of 15 May 2014) as a situation where a client "initiates at its own exclusive initiative" the provision of an investment service or activity by a financial intermediary. According to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), reliance on reverse solicitation implies that the financial service provider does not – either itself or through a related entity or an agent acting on its behalf – promote or advertise its services or activities, regardless