Federal Intermediated Securities Act (FISA)
English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force.
Section 1 General Rights of Account Holders
Art. 13 Principle
1 The creation of intermediated securities does not affect the rights of investors against the issuer. 2 Unless otherwise provided by this Act, account holders may exercise their rights only through their custodian.
Art. 14 Seizure and attachment
1 Where intermediated securities are seized, attached, or subjected to any other interim measure against the account holder, such measure shall be executed exclusively in the hands of the custodian maintaining the securities account to which the account holder's intermediated securities are credited. 2 Any seizure, attachment, or other interim measure executed against an account holder in the hands of a sub-custodian shall be void.
Art. 15 Instructions
1 A custodian shall carry out the account holder's instructions to dispose of intermediated securities pursuant to the contract between both parties. 2 The custodian shall not be obliged or entitled to verify the legal grounds for the instruction. 3 The account holder may revoke an instruction until the point in time provided in the contract with the custodian or in the applicable rules of the securities clearing and settlement system. An instruction shall in any case become irrevocable once the custodian has debited the account holder's securities account.
Art. 16 Statement
An account holder may at any time require its custodian to draw up a statement of the intermediated securities credited to its securities account. This statement is not a certificated security.
Section 2 Rights of Account Holders in the event o
Art. 17 Exclusion from custodian's estate
1 If a custodian is subject to proceedings for compulsory liquidation, the liquidator shall exclude from the custodian's estate up to the number of intermediated securities credited to securities account maintained by the custodian for its account holders: a. intermediated securities credited to a securities account that the custodian holds with a sub-custodian; b. certificated securities, ledger-based securities or global certificates that the custodian holds directly, or uncertificated securities entered in its main register; and c. readily available claims of the custodian to receive delivery of intermediated securities from third parties resulting from spot transactions, expired futures transactions, hedging transactions, or issues on behalf of account holders. 2 If the custodian does not hold its own securities and that of its account holders in separate securities accounts with a sub-custodian, the securities credited to those accounts shall be presumed to belong to the custodian
Para. 1 let. b — Amended by No I 9 of the FA of 25 Sept. 2020 on the Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments in Distributed Ledger Technology, in force since 1 Feb. 2021 (AS 2021 33; BBl 2020 233). Para. 4 let. b — Amended by No I 9 of the FA of 25 Sept. 2020 on the Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments in Distributed Ledger Technology, in force since 1 Feb. 2021 (AS 2021 33; BBl 2020 233). Para. 4 let. c — Amended by No I 9 of the FA of 25 Sept. 2020 on the Adaptation of Federal Law to De
Art. 18 Exclusion from sub-custodian's estate
If a sub-custodian is subject to proceedings for compulsory liquidation, the custodian shall seek the exclusion of its account holders' intermediated securities from the sub-custodian's estate.
Art. 19 Shortfall
1 If the intermediated securities excluded from the custodian's estate are not sufficient to satisfy the account holders in full, intermediated securities of the same kind held by the custodian for its own account shall also be excluded insofar as necessary, even where such intermediated securities have been held separately from the account holders' intermediated securities. 2 If the account holders are still not fully satisfied, they shall bear the shortfall in proportion to the number of intermediated securities of the missing kind credited to their respective securities accounts. They shall have a corresponding claim for compensation against the custodian.
Art. 20 Finality of instructions
An instruction issued by a custodian which is a participant in a securities clearing or settlement system shall be legally binding and effective against third parties even in the event of debt enforcement proceedings against that custodian, provided that: a. the instruction was entered into the system before the commencement of such proceedings; or b. it was entered into the system after the commencement of such proceedings and carried out on the day of commencement, if the system operator can prove that it was not aware, and should not have been aware, of the commencement of such proceedings.
Section 3 Rights of a Custodian in Intermediated S
Art. 21 Right of retention and foreclosure
1 A custodian shall be entitled to retain and foreclose on intermediated securities credited to a securities account, provided a debt owed by the account holder is due and arises from the custody of the intermediated securities or the financing of their acquisition. 2 The right of retention and foreclosure shall cease when the custodian credits the intermediated securities to the account of another account holder.
Art. 22 Right of use
1 An account holder may authorise its custodian to dispose of its intermediated securities in its own name and on its own account, in particular to grant a security interest in the same. 2 Unless the account holder is a qualified investor, authorisation must be granted in writing. It may not be included in general terms and conditions.
Art. 23 Return of collateral
1 If an account holder has granted a security interest to a custodian, and the custodian has exercised a right of use by creating a security interest, the custodian shall return to the account holder intermediated securities in the same quantity and of the same kind no later than the due date for the performance of the secured obligation. 2 These intermediated securities shall be subject to the same security interest as the original security interest, and shall be treated as if they had been provided at the same time as the original security interest. 3 To the extent provided by the security agreement with the account holder, the custodian may realise the intermediated securities in accordance with Article 31 instead of returning them.
Art. 23a Passing on of information
The custodian designated by a company limited by shares under Article 697i paragraph 4 or Article 697j paragraph 3 of the Code of Obligations must ensure that on request downstream custodians pass on the following information: a. the first name and surname or business name and address of the shareholder; and b. the first name and surname and address of the beneficial owner.
Art. 23a — Inserted by No I 8 of the Federal Act of 12 Dec. 2014 on the Implementation of the revised recommendations 2012 of the Financial Action Task Force, in force since 1 July 2015 (AS 2015 1389; BBl 2014 605). SR 220