Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Swiss shares can be traded again in the UK

SIX sign
“The mutual recognition of equivalence will permit a healthy exchange and competition between the major financial centres in Switzerland and the UK," according to the chairman of SIX © Keystone / Ennio Leanza

The Swiss finance ministry has removed Britain from a list of countries requiring authorisation for its securities trading platforms.

This decision follows the recognition of the equivalence of Swiss stock exchange regulations by the British parliament, the stock exchange operator SIX said in a statementExternal link on Wednesday, the day the recognition entered into force.

The normalisation of relations between Switzerland and Britain in this area means that various trading venues in the UK can be automatically approved by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), the latter said in a separate statementExternal link.

“On January 31, 2020, UK membership of the European Union ended,” the State Secretariat for International Finance explainedExternal link on Wednesday. “Subsequently, the finance ministry activated the protective measure with respect to the UK as well. The transition period in the relationship between the UK and the EU expired on December 31, 2020.”

More

‘Healthy competition’

Since January 2019, any trading venue from a European Union member state wishing to operate in Switzerland must obtain a licence. In November 2018, the government adopted an ordinance to this effect in response to Brussels’ failure to recognise Switzerland’s stock exchange equivalence.

“We’ve always supported open and international capital markets and it’s in the interests of national and international investors,” said Thomas Wellauer, Chairman of SIX, in the statement. “The mutual recognition of equivalence will permit a healthy exchange and competition between the major financial centres in Switzerland and the UK.”

The restrictions are maintained for other EU countries, the Zurich-based financial group said.

More

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

No Swiss bank in phase with environmental objectives

More

Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF

This content was published on None of the 15 major Swiss retail banks is meeting international climate and biodiversity targets, according to a ranking by WWF Switzerland.

Read more: Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF
UNRWA provides emergency assistance to just over one million Palestine refugees, or about 75 per cent of all Palestine refugees in Gaza, who lack the financial means to cover their basic food.

More

Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

This content was published on The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.

Read more: Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR