I. Purpose and background

1 A financial intermediary under Art. 2 para. 3 AMLA is in principle subject to individual supervision. This focuses on the individual institution, which, however, can lead to a lack of comprehensive understanding of money laundering risks within the entire corporate group. To fill this gap, Art. 26a AMLA enables consolidated AMLA supervision. This is intended to supplement the supervision of individual institutions in view of the economic unity of the group. Consolidated supervision thus allows for a continuous double view – both at the level of the individual institution and at the group level.

2 FINMA's authority to subject corporate groups to consolidated AMLA supervision originally goes back to Art. 4 aGwV-FINMA. This regulation applied to both so-called “DUFI” (financial intermediaries directly subordinated to FINMA in accordance with Art. 2 para. 3 AMLA) and to holders of a “fintech license” (persons in accordance with Art. 1b BankG). When the FinIA came into force on January 1, 2020, Article 4 of the AMLA-FINMA was transferred to the legislative level in Article 26a AMLA. At the same time, the group of addressees was specified: in view of the abolition of the DSFI status as of January 1, 2020, this now includes all financial intermediaries according to Art. 2 para. 3 AMLA that are part of a financial group. However, persons according to Art. 1b BankG, i.e. holders of a fintech license, were not included in the group of addressees of Art. 26a AMLA. Thus, these persons do not have the option of consolidated AMLA supervision, since the provisions on consolidated supervision in the Banking Act do not apply to them. The reasons for their exclusion from the scope of the provisions are not apparent from the materials, since Art. 26a AMLA was not the subject of the dispatch on the FinSA/FinIA, but was only added during the parliamentary deliberations. In practice, however, this question is of little significance – at least for the time being – since none of the (five) holders of a fintech license is part of a group as of the cut-off date of July 1, 2024.

II. Requirements

3 Article 26a AMLA applies to “financial intermediaries in accordance with Article 2 paragraph 3” that are considered “domestic group companies” of a “financial intermediary in accordance with Article 2 paragraph 2 letters a–d^quater”. These concepts are explained below.

A. Financial intermediaries in accordance with Art. 2 para. 3 AMLA

4 Financial intermediaries in accordance with Art. 2 para. 3 AMLA are persons who professionally accept or hold assets belonging to third parties or who assist in the investment or transfer of such assets. Examples of such financial intermediaries are listed in Art. 2 para. 3 let. a–c, f and g AMLA. The definition of such a financial intermediary is specified in the AMLO and in FINMA Circular 2011/1.

B. Financial intermediaries in accordance with Art. 2 para. 2 let. a–d^quater AMLA

5 The regulation of Article 26a AMLA refers to domestic group companies of financial intermediaries in accordance with Article 2, para. 2, let. a–d^quater AMLA. This refers to the following financial intermediaries in accordance with Article 2, para. 2 AMLA (and exclusively):

• banks in accordance with Art. 1a BankG and persons in accordance with Art. 1b BankG (lit. a);

• asset managers and trustees in accordance with Art. 2 para. 1 let. a and b FinIA (lit. a^bis);

• fund management companies in accordance with Art. 2 para. 1 let. d FinIA (lit. b);

• licensees in accordance with Article 13 para. 2 let. b–d CISA and managers of collective assets in accordance with Article 2 para. 1 let. c FinIA (let. b^bis);

• Insurance institutions in accordance with the ISA that operate direct life insurance or offer or distribute units in a collective investment scheme (c);

• Investment firms in accordance with Article 2 paragraph 1 letter e FinIA (d);

• Central counterparties and central securities depositories in accordance with the FinMIA (d^bis);

• payment systems, provided they require a license from FINMA in accordance with Article 4 para. 2 FinMIA (lit. d^ter);

• trading facilities for DLT securities in accordance with Article 73a FinMIA (DLT trading facilities; lit. d^quater).

C. Domestic group company

1. Group company

6 The terms “group of companies” and “group” are used synonymously. However, Swiss corporate group law does not have a uniform or generally valid concept of a group. The characteristics of a group of companies are defined individually in the various areas of law. Accordingly, the basic assumptions and legal criteria regarding the existence or non-existence of a group can differ considerably depending on the area of law. Nevertheless, all group concepts in Swiss law are based on three constitutive characteristics: Firstly, the individual group companies are legally independent entities, whereby their legal form can vary depending on the level in the hierarchy. Secondly, a group requires at least two companies – a parent company and at least one subsidiary. Thirdly, the link between the companies, the “glue”, so to speak, is a unified management (so-called “group management”). In the context of the AMLA, the group is considered an economic unit if a company directly or indirectly holds more than half of the votes or capital of another company or controls it in some other way. The participations can be held both directly and indirectly, i.e. through other group companies. This means that both direct and indirect subsidiaries can be found across several hierarchical levels.

2. “Domestic” group company

7 As with Art. 2 para. 3 AMLA, the territorial scope of Art. 26a AMLA is limited to financial intermediaries that, in accordance with Art. 2 para. 1 let. a AMLO, operate in or from Switzerland. The financial intermediary under Art. 2 para. 3 AMLA or the domestic group company must therefore have its registered office in Switzerland and employ persons who permanently carry out financial intermediary business in Switzerland or from Switzerland. A subsidiary or branch of a foreign financial group, on the other hand, does not meet the requirements, since the controlling company must be a licensee under Art. 2 para. 2 let. a–d^quater AMLA and must therefore also be considered a domestic group company.

III. Legal consequence

A. “Optional provision”

8 Article 26a AMLA is an “optional provision”: if the conditions are met, i.e. if a financial intermediary under Article 2 para. 3 AMLA is a domestic group company of a financial intermediary in accordance with Article 2 para. 2 let. a–d^quater AMLA, FINMA “may” request a consolidated AMLA audit report. This means that FINMA can order such a report without the prior involvement or request of the financial intermediary. Conversely, it is possible for a domestic group company or a financial intermediary supervised by FINMA to request consolidated AMLA supervision from FINMA in accordance with Art. 2 para. 2 let. a–d^quater AMLA. Although FINMA states on its homepage that the content and scope of consolidated group supervision are determined by it on a case-by-case basis, It also states that it checks in particular whether the financial group:

• is appropriately organized;

• has an appropriate internal control system;

• appropriately records, limits and monitors the risks associated with its business activities;

• is managed by persons who guarantee proper business conduct;

• complies with the personnel separation between management, governance, supervision and control;

• complies with the capital and risk diversification requirements;

• has adequate liquidity;

• correctly applies the accounting rules;

• has a recognized, independent and knowledgeable audit firm.

It can therefore be assumed that an application by a group company for the ordering of a group audit report in the area of AMLA must include proof of the above points.

B. Subject of the audit

9 Art. 26a para. 1 AMLA requires that the group audit report verify compliance with the “obligations under Chapter 2”. The wording of this provision is thus broader than that of Art. 25 para. 2 AMLA, for example, which only mentions the “due diligence obligations” under Chapter 2. Art. 26a AMLA, on the other hand, covers all “obligations under Chapter 2” and thus not only Art. 3 to 8 AMLA but also Art. 9 to 11a AMLA, excluding the provisions of Chapter 2 concerning dealers. The group audit report must therefore document compliance with both the due diligence requirements under Arts. 3 to 8 AMLA and the obligations under Arts. 9 to 11a AMLA.

C. Audit requirements

10 The audit process is regulated in Art. 24 et seq. FINMASA in conjunction with the Financial Market Auditing Ordinance (FINMA-PV). Among other things, the FINMA-PV specifies the licensing of audit firms and the auditing of supervised institutions in accordance with FINMASA. Further audit instructions are contained in FINMA Circular 2013/3, which also forms the basis for specific guidelines on regulatory audits on the FINMA website. It should be emphasized that, despite the consolidated group audit report, reporting on the individual institution and the group must, in principle, be done separately.

IV. List of FINMA

11 Pursuant to Art. 26a para. 2 AMLA, FINMA publishes the list of group companies pursuant to Art. 26a para. 1 AMLA. As of the reporting date of July 1, 2024, such a list had not yet been published. It can therefore be concluded that no order within the meaning of Art. 26a AMLA had been issued by that date.

Bibliography

Kunz Peter V., Wirtschaftsrecht, Grundlagen und Beobachtungen, Bern 2019.

Nobel Peter, Bank- und Finanzkonglomerate – eine aufsichtsrechtliche Auslegeordnung, Aktuelle Rechtsprobleme des Finanz- und Börsenplatzes Schweiz, Band 8/1999, Bern 2000, S. 171 ff.

Materials

Amtliche Sammlung Nr. 155 vom 8.12.2020 zur Verordnung der Eidgenössischen Finanzmarktaufsicht über die Finanzinstitute (Finanzinstitutsverordnung-FINMA, FINIV-FINMA), abrufbar unter https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/oc/2020/922/de, besucht am 23.8.2024 (zit.: AS 2020 5327).

Botschaft zum Finanzdienstleistungsgesetz (FIDLEG) und zum Finanzinstitutsgesetz (FINIG) vom 4.11.2015, BBl 2015 8901, abrufbar unter https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/filestore/fedlex.data.admin.ch/eli/fga/2015/2141/de/pdf-a/fedlex-data-admin-ch-eli-fga-2015-2141-de-pdf-a.pdf, besucht am 23.8.2024.

Eidgenössische Finanzmarktaufsicht (FINMA), Rundschreiben 2011/1 Tätigkeit als Finanzintermediär nach GwG, Ausführungen zur Geldwäschereiverordnung vom 4.11.2020, abrufbar unter https://www.finma.ch/de/~/media/finma/dokumente/dokumentencenter/myfinma/rundschreiben/finma-rs-2011-01-01-01-2017.pdf?la=de, besucht am 23.8.2024.

Eidgenössische Finanzmarktaufsicht (FINMA), Rundschreiben 2013/3 Prüfwesen vom 7.12.2022, abrufbar unter https://www.finma.ch/de/~/media/finma/dokumente/dokumentencenter/myfinma/rundschreiben/finma-rs-2013-03-20221207.pdf, besucht am 23.8.2024.

Eidgenössische Finanzmarktaufsicht (FINMA), Spezifische Anforderungen der FINMA an das Prüfwesen bei aufsichtsrechtlichen Prüfungen, abrufbar unter https://www.finma.ch/de/ueberwachung/branchenuebergreifende-themen/pruefwesen/, besucht am 23.8.2024.

Geschäft des Bundesrates Nr. 15.073 Finanzdienstleistungsgesetz (FIDLEG) und Finanzinstitutsgesetz (FINIG), Fahne Herbstsession 2017 Nationalrat, abrufbar unter https://www.parlament.ch/centers/eparl/curia/2015/20150073/N2%20D.pdf, besucht am 23.8.2024 (zit.: BR-Geschäft Nr. 15.073, Fahne Herbstsession 2017 NR).

Liste der von der FINMA bewilligten und beaufsichtigten Vermögensverwaltern sowie Trustees (inländische Gruppengesellschaften nach FINIG), abrufbar unter https://www.finma.ch/de/~/media/finma/dokumente/bewilligungstraeger/pdf/grfinig.pdf?la=de&hash=75FEFE0A120F46AC945E8E4A20CF128C, besucht am 23.8.2024.

Liste der von der FINMA bewilligten Personen nach Art. 1b BankG (Fintech-Bewilligung), abrufbar unter https://www.finma.ch/de/~/media/finma/dokumente/bewilligungstraeger/pdf/fintech.pdf?sc_lang=de&hash=6C56E843908149147A3CC22EAB7DE1C6, besucht am 23.8.2024.