Financial Market Infrastructure Ordinance (FinMIO)
English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force.
Chapter 1 Common Provisions
Section 1 Authorisation Conditions and Duties for
Art. 4 Authorisation application
(Art. 4 and 5 FinMIA) 1 The financial market infrastructure shall submit an authorisation application to the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). This shall contain all the information necessary for assessing it, specifically information on: a. the business area (Art. 6); b. the place of management (Art. 7); c. corporate governance (Art. 8); d. risk management (Art. 9); e. guarantee of irreproachable business conduct (Art. 10); f. minimum capital (Art. 13); g. capital adequacy and risk diversification (Art. 48, 49, 56, 57 and 69); h. the audit firm (Art. 71). 2 The financial market infrastructure shall attach along with its authorisation application the necessary documentation, namely its articles of association or partnership agreements and regulations.
Art. 5 Changes in facts
(Art. 7 FinMIA) 1 The financial market infrastructure shall notify FINMA in particular of: a. any amendments to the articles of association or partnership agreements and regulations; b. any material change in the business activity of a subsidiary, branch or representation abroad; c. any change in audit firm or in the competent foreign supervisory authority with respect to any subsidiary, branch or representation abroad. 2 It may only report any changes in its articles of association to the commercial register and put any changes in regulations into effect following FINMA's approval of the changes in question.
Art. 6 Business area
(Art. 8 para. 2 FinMIA) 1 The financial market infrastructure must describe its area of business in factually and geographically precise terms in the articles of association, partnership agreements or regulations. 2 The business area and its geographical extent must be in harmony with the financial market infrastructure's financial capabilities and administrative organisation.
Art. 7 Place of management
(Art. 8 paras. 1 and 2 FinMIA) 1 The financial market infrastructure must effectively be managed from Switzerland. An exception is made here for general directives and decisions within the context of group supervision if the financial market infrastructure forms part of a financial group that is subject to appropriate consolidated supervision by a foreign financial market supervisory authority. 2 The persons entrusted with managing the financial market infrastructure must be resident in a place from which they can effectively exercise such management.
Art. 8 Corporate governance
(Art. 8 para. 2 FinMIA) 1 The financial market infrastructure must have an organisational structure and an organisational basis that set out the tasks, responsibilities, powers and accountability of the following bodies: a. body for business management; b. body for governance, supervision and control; c. internal audit function. 2 The body for governance, supervision and control must comprise at least three members. These may not belong to the bodies described in paragraph 1 letters a and c. 3 The body for governance, supervision and control shall set out the basic risk management principles and determine the risk tolerance of the financial market infrastructure. This body shall have its work evaluated regularly. 4 The financial market infrastructure shall define, implement and maintain a compensation policy that promotes sound and effective risk management and does not create incentives to relax risk standards. 5 It must have mechanisms in place that allow it to establish the needs of
Art. 9 Risk management
(Art. 8 para. 3 FinMIA) 1 With regard to risk management, the financial market infrastructure must have a concept for the integrated identification, measurement, management and monitoring of risks, particularly with respect to: a. legal risks; b. credit and liquidity risks; c. market risks; d. operational risks; e. settlement risks; f. reputational risks; g. general business risks. 2 It must have instruments in place and create incentives in order to ensure that participants can continuously manage and limit the risks arising for themselves or for the financial market infrastructure. 3 Insofar as the financial market infrastructure has indirect participants and these are identifiable, it must also identify, measure, control and monitor the risks posed to the financial market infrastructure by these parties. 4 The internal documentation of the financial market infrastructure on passing a resolution and the monitoring of transactions associated with the risks should be designed in such a
Art. 10 Guarantee of irreproachable business conduct
(Art. 9 paras. 2 and 3 FinMIA) 1 The authorisation application for a new financial market infrastructure must contain the following information and documentation in particular on the members of the board and executive management in accordance with Article 9 paragraph 2 FinMIA and on the owners of a qualified participation in accordance with Article 9 paragraph 3 FinMIA: a. natural persons: 1. details on nationality, domicile, qualified participations in other companies and any pending court or administrative proceedings, 2. a curriculum vitae signed by the relevant person, 3. references, 4. an extract from the register of criminal convictions; b. companies: 1. the articles of association, 2. an extract from the commercial register or an attestation to this effect, 3. a description of business activities, the financial situation and, if applicable, the group structure, 4. details on completed and pending court or administrative proceedings. 2 Persons holding a qualified participation mu
Art. 11 Outsourcing
(Art. 11 FinMIA) 1 An outsourcing situation in accordance with Article 11 paragraph 1 FinMIA is deemed to exist if the financial market infrastructure has commissioned a service provider to independently and permanently provide an essential service for the financial market infrastructure in accordance with Article 12. 2 The following aspects in particular are to be addressed in the agreement with the service provider: a. the service to be outsourced and the services of the service provider; b. the responsibilities and the reciprocal rights and duties, particularly the financial market infrastructure's rights of inspection, instruction and control; c. the security requirements that must be fulfilled by the service provider; d. the service provider's adherence to the financial market infrastructure's business confidentiality and, insofar as legally protected data is provided to the service provider, the service provider's adherence to professional confidentiality; e. the rights of inspec
Art. 12 Essential services
(Art. 11 para. 1 FinMIA) 1 Essential services are deemed to be services that are necessary for the continuation of important business processes, in particular in the areas of liquidity management, treasury, risk management, master data administration and accounting, personnel, information technology, and legal and compliance. 2 The following services are also deemed to be essential: a. in the case of trading venues: 1. all activities conducted with the aim of ensuring fair, efficient and orderly trading, 2. the operating of matching and market data distribution systems; b. in the case of central counterparties: 1. contractually entering into securities transactions or other contracts involving financial instruments between two participants or between one participant and another central counterparty, 2. the establishment of mechanisms relating to the planning for and protection against outages of participants or interoperably associated central counterparties, or relating to the segrega
Para. 2 let. f — Inserted by No I 10 of the O of 18 June 2021 on the Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments in Distributed Ledger Technology, in force since 1 Aug. 2021 (AS 2021 400). Para. 2 let. g — Inserted by No I 10 of the O of 18 June 2021 on the Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments in Distributed Ledger Technology, in force since 1 Aug. 2021 (AS 2021 400).
Art. 13 Minimum capital
(Art. 12 FinMIA) 1 The minimum capital shall amount to: a. for trading venues: CHF 1 million; b. for central counterparties: CHF 10 million; c. for central securities depositories: CHF 5 million; d. for trade repositories: CHF 500,000; e. for payment systems: CHF 1.5 million; f. for DLT trading facilities that do not provide services in accordance with Article 73a paragraph 1 letter b or c of the FinMIA: CHF 1 million; g. for DLT trading facilities that provide services in accordance with Article 73a paragraph 1 letter b or c of the FinMIA: CHF 5 million. 1bis For trading venues and DLT trading facilities, where justified, FINMA can stipulate a minimum amount that is up to 50% higher. 2 In the event of non-cash capital contributions, the value of the assets brought in and the amount of the liabilities shall be reviewed by a licensed audit firm. This also applies when an existing company is transformed into a financial market infrastructure.
Para. 1 let. a — Amended by No I 10 of the O of 18 June 2021 on the Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments in Distributed Ledger Technology, in force since 1 Aug. 2021 (AS 2021 400). Para. 1 let. f — Inserted by No I 10 of the O of 18 June 2021 on the Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments in Distributed Ledger Technology, in force since 1 Aug. 2021 (AS 2021 400). Para. 1 let. g — Inserted by No I 10 of the O of 18 June 2021 on the Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments in Distributed L
Art. 14 Business continuity
(Art. 13 FinMIA) 1 The strategy detailed in Article 13 paragraph 1 FinMIA must be enshrined in the company organisation and should regulate in particular: a. the tasks, responsibilities and powers; b. the frequency of the review of the business impact analysis in accordance with paragraph 2; c. reporting, communication and training. 2 The financial market infrastructure shall prepare a business impact analysis which sets out the recovery point objective and the recovery time objective for the business processes that are necessary for operations. 3 It shall set out the options for the recovery of the business processes that are necessary for operations. 4 The strategy detailed in Article 13 paragraph 1 FinMIA must be approved by the body responsible for governance, supervision and control.
Art. 15 IT systems
(Art. 14 FinMIA) 1 The IT systems must be set up in such a way that: a. the requirements of information availability, integrity and confidentiality can be appropriately fulfilled with respect to the business activity in question; b. reliable access control is possible; c. arrangements are in place for identifying security deficiencies and being able to respond to them appropriately. 2 The financial market infrastructure shall take appropriate measures to ensure that business-relevant data can be recovered in the event of loss.
Art. 16 International business
(Art. 17 FinMIA) 1 The report that a financial market infrastructure must submit to FINMA prior to commencing activity abroad must contain all the necessary information and documentation for evaluating the activity in question, namely: a. a business plan that describes in particular the nature of the planned businesses and the organisational structure; b. the address of the office abroad; c. the names of the members of the board and executive management; d. the audit firm; e. the supervisory authority in the host country. 2 The financial market infrastructure must also notify FINMA of: a. any discontinuation of business activity abroad; b. any material change in the business activity abroad; c. any change of audit firm; d. any change of supervisory authority in the host country.
Art. 17 Fair and open access
(Art. 18 FinMIA) 1 Fair access is deemed not to be guaranteed in particular if excessively high or objectively unjustified requirements are made, or if excessive prices are demanded for use of the services offered. Fee structures should not be conducive to disorderly market conditions. 2 The financial market infrastructure may make access conditional upon fulfilment of operational, technical, financial and legal requirements. 3 If it restricts access for reasons of efficiency, FINMA shall consult the Competition Commission as part of its assessment.
Art. 18 Prevention of conflicts of interest
(Art. 20 FinMIA) If the disadvantaging of participants through conflicts of interest cannot be excluded with organisational measures, this should be disclosed to participants.
Art. 19 Publication of essential information
(Art. 21 FinMIA) The financial market infrastructure shall regularly publish in addition to the information required under Article 21 FinMIA: a. the rules and procedures that apply to the operation of the financial market infrastructure, including the rights and duties of the financial market infrastructure and participants; b. the fees and prices that apply to the services provided by the financial market infrastructure, including the conditions for the granting of discounts; c. the risks for participants associated with the services provided; d. the criteria for the suspension and exclusion of a participant; e. the rules and procedures that apply in the event of a default or outage of a participant; f. the rules and procedures required in order to keep the collateral, receivables and liabilities of participants and indirect participants segregated from one another, and the rules and procedures required for this collateral, receivables and liabilities to be both recorded and transferr
Section 2 Special Requirements for Systemically Im
Art. 20 Recovery and resolution plan
(Art. 24 FinMIA) 1 The recovery plan and the resolution plan must take into account the regulations of foreign supervisory authorities and central banks for stabilisation, restructuring and winding-up. 2 The recovery plan shall in particular describe the measures to be taken and the resources required for their implementation. It must be approved by the body responsible for governance, supervision and control. 3 The financial market infrastructure shall describe, upon submission of the plan, what measures it is preparing or has already implemented to improve its resolvability both in Switzerland and abroad (Art. 21). 4 It shall submit to FINMA annually, and by the end of the second quarter of the year, the recovery plan and the information required for the resolution plan. The same documents should also be submitted if changes make a reworking necessary or if FINMA demands such a submission. 5 FINMA shall grant the financial market infrastructure an appropriate period for the preparato
Art. 21 Measures to improve resolvability
(Art. 24 para. 1 FinMIA) The measures to improve the financial market structure's resolvability can encompass in particular: a. structural improvements and unbundling by means of: 1. amendments to the legal structure to create business-aligned legal entities, 2. the creation of legally independent service units, 3. the elimination or minimisation of de facto compulsory government support, particularly by creating an independent management structure, 4. the reduction of geographical or balance sheet asymmetries; b. financial unbundling to contain risks of contagion by means of: 1. the reduction of capital participations between legal entities at the same level, 2. restrictions on the granting of unsecured loans and guarantees between legal entities at the same level within the financial group, 3. the creation of an incentive structure that gives rise to the highest possible degree of market-consistent intra-group financing; c. operational unbundling to safeguard data and ensure continua
Chapter 2 Trading Venues and Organised Trading Fac
Section 1 Definitions
Art. 22 Multilateral trading
(Art. 26 and 42 FinMIA) Trading is deemed to be multilateral if it unites the interests of multiple participants in the acquisition and sale of securities or other financial instruments within the trading facility with a view to concluding a contract.
Art. 23 Non-discretionary rules
(Art. 26 and 42 FinMIA) Rules are deemed to be non-discretionary if they grant the trading venue or the operator of an organised trading facility no discretion in the amalgamation of offers.
Section 2 Trading Venues
Art. 24 Regulatory and supervisory organisation
(Art. 27 FinMIA) 1 An appropriate regulatory and supervisory organisation shall encompass the following bodies in particular: a. a body that fulfils regulatory tasks; b. a body that fulfils supervisory tasks; c. a body responsible for the admission of securities to trading; d. an appeal body. 2 The body that fulfils the regulatory tasks of the trading venue must be independent of the business management of the trading venue and largely independent of the participants and issuers, both organisationally and with respect to personnel. It must have sufficient organisational, personnel and financial resources. 2bis The body that fulfils the supervisory tasks of the trading venue must be independent of the business management of the trading venue and independent of the participants and issuers, both organisationally and with respect to personnel. It must have sufficient organisational, personnel and financial resources. 3 Both issuers and investors must be appropriately represented in the bo
Para. 1 let. b — Amended by No I 10 of the O of 18 June 2021 on the Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments in Distributed Ledger Technology, in force since 1 Aug. 2021 (AS 2021 400). Para. 2 — Amended by No I 10 of the O of 18 June 2021 on the Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments in Distributed Ledger Technology, in force since 1 Aug. 2021 (AS 2021 400). Para. 2bis — Inserted by No I 10 of the O of 18 June 2021 on the Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments in Distributed Ledger Techno
Art. 25 Approval of regulations
(Art. 27 para. 4 FinMIA) 1 When approving regulations, FINMA shall review in particular whether these: a. ensure transparency and the equal treatment of investors; and b. ensure the proper functioning of the securities markets. 2 FINMA may consult the Competition Commission before making its decision. The latter shall give its opinion on whether the regulations are neutral in terms of competition and are conducive to anti-competitive arrangements or not.
Art. 26 Organisation of trading
(Art. 28 FinMIA) The trading venue shall establish procedures in order that the relevant data on securities transactions can be confirmed on the same day that transactions are executed.
Art. 27 Pre-trade transparency
(Art. 29 paras. 1 and 3 lit. b FinMIA) 1 The trading venue shall publish the information communicated via its trading facilities on pre-trade transparency for shares throughout normal trading hours. 2 For each share, the five best bid and offer prices as well as the volume of orders are to be published. 3 Paragraphs 1 and 2 also apply for actionable indications of interest. 4 The trading venue may make provision for exceptions in its regulations for: a. reference price systems, as long as the reference prices are widely published and viewed by participants as reliable; b. systems that exist only to formalise transactions already negotiated; c. orders held in an order management facility of the trading venue pending disclosure; d. orders that are large in scale compared with normal market size.
Art. 28 Post-trade transparency
(Art. 29 paras. 2 and 3 lit. b FinMIA) 1 The trading venue shall publish the information on post-trade transparency with respect to transactions executed via the trading venue in accordance with its regulations. 2 Post-trade information with respect to transactions that were carried out on the trading venue outside of normal business hours are to be published by the trading venue prior to the start of trading on the trading day following execution of the transaction in question. 3 Paragraph 1 also applies to transactions that were conducted outside of the trading venue insofar as they were carried out during the course of the trading day on the most important market for the securities in question or during the normal trading hours of the trading venue. Otherwise, the information is to be published immediately prior to the beginning of the ordinary trading hours of the trading venue, or at the latest prior to the start of the next trading day on the most important market for these secur
Art. 29 Exceptions to pre-trade and post-trade transparency
(Art. 29 para. 3 lit. b FinMIA) 1 Securities transactions are not subject to the provisions on pre-trade and post-trade transparency if they are carried out as part of public tasks and not for investment purposes, namely on the part of: a. the Confederation, cantons or communes; b. the SNB; c. the Bank for International Settlements (BIS); d. multilateral development banks in accordance with Article 63 paragraph 2 letter c of the Capital Adequacy Ordinance of 1 June 2012 (CAO). 2 Securities transactions carried out by the following parties may be excluded from the provisions on pre-trade and post-trade transparency as long as the transactions are carried out as part of public tasks and not for investment purposes, and as long as reciprocal rights are granted and an exception does not stand in contradiction to the legislative purpose: a. foreign central banks; b. the European Central Bank (ECB); c. official bodies or state departments that are responsible for or involved in administering
Para. 1 let. d — SR 952.03
Art. 30 Guarantee of orderly trading
(Art. 30 FinMIA) 1 The trading venue shall set transparent rules and procedures for fair, efficient and orderly trading, as well as objective criteria for the effective execution of orders. It must have measures in place to ensure the robust management of technical processes and the operation of its systems. 2 It must possess effective systems, procedures and arrangements to ensure in particular that its trading facilities: a. are robust and equipped with sufficient capacity to deal with peak volumes of orders and announcements; b. are in a position to ensure orderly trading under conditions of severe market stress; c. are subject to effective emergency measures so that the restoration of business operations can be guaranteed in the event of disruptions to its trading facilities; d. reject orders that exceed pre-determined volume and price thresholds or are clearly erroneous; e. are in a position to suspend or restrict trading temporarily if there are significant short-term price movem
Para. 3 — Amended by Annex 1 No II 14 of the Financial Institutions Ordinance of 6 Nov. 2019, in force since 1 Jan. 2020 (AS 2019 4633).
Art. 31 Algorithmic trading and high-frequency trading
(Art. 30 FinMIA) 1 The trading venue must be able to identify the following: a. orders generated by algorithmic trading; b. the different algorithms used for the creation of orders; c. the participants' dealers who initiated these orders in the trading facility. 2 It shall require participants that pursue algorithmic trading to flag the orders generated in this manner, record all entered orders, including order cancellations, and in particular to possess effective precautions and risk controls that ensure that their systems: a. are robust and equipped with sufficient capacity to deal with peak volumes of orders and announcements; b. are subject to appropriate trading thresholds and upper limits; c. do not cause or contribute to any disruptions in the trading venue; d. are effective for preventing violations of Articles 142 and 143 FinMIA; e. are subject to appropriate tests of algorithms and control mechanisms, including precautions to: 1. limit the proportion of unexecuted trading ord
Art. 32 Supervision of trading
(Art. 31 para. 2 FinMIA) 1 The trading supervisory body must have appropriate systems and resources to carry out its tasks. 2 The functioning of the trading supervisory systems must also be guaranteed without restriction even in the event of high data volumes. 3 The trading supervisory body shall monitor trading in such a way that forms of conduct in accordance with Articles 142 and 143 FinMIA can be identified irrespective of whether they are attributable to manual, automated or algorithmic trading.
Art. 33 Admission of securities by a stock exchange
(Art. 35 FinMIA) 1 The stock exchange shall guarantee that all securities admitted to trading and all listed securities can be traded in a fair, efficient and orderly manner. 2 In the case of derivatives, it shall ensure in particular that the way in which derivatives trading is structured facilitates orderly pricing. 3 The stock exchange shall take the necessary measures to review the securities listed and admitted to trading for their fulfilment of the admission and listing requirements.
Art. 34 Admission of securities by a multilateral trading facility
(Art. 36 FinMIA) 1 The multilateral trading facility shall guarantee that all securities admitted to trading can be traded in a fair, efficient and orderly manner. 2 In the case of derivatives, it shall ensure in particular that the way in which derivatives trading is structured facilitates orderly pricing. 3 The multilateral trading facility shall take the necessary measures to review the securities admitted to trading for their fulfilment of the admission requirements.
Art. 35 Appeal body
(Art. 37 paras. 1 to 3 FinMIA) 1 The appeal body shall be independent in its adjudication and bound only by the law. 2 The members may not belong to the body responsible for the admission of securities to trading, nor may they be in an employment relationship or any other contractual relationship with the trading venue that could lead to conflicts of interest. 3 The provisions of the Federal Supreme Court Act of 17 June 2005 on recusal apply to the members of the independent appeal body. 4 The regulations concerning the independent appeal body shall contain guidelines with respect to composition, election, organisation and proceedings before the appeal body.
Para. 3 — SR 173.110
Art. 36 Record-keeping duty of participants
(Art. 38 FinMIA) 1 The participants admitted to a trading venue shall keep a record of all orders they receive and all securities transactions they execute. 2 The record-keeping duty also applies to orders and transactions in derivatives whose underlying instruments are securities admitted to trading on a trading venue. 3 The record-keeping duty applies not only to transactions on own account, but also to transactions executed on behalf of a client. 4 FINMA shall regulate what information is necessary and in what form it must be recorded.
Art. 37 Reporting duty of participants
(Art. 39 FinMIA) 1 The participants admitted to a trading venue shall report all transactions they execute involving securities admitted to trading on a trading venue. In particular, the following must be reported: a. the name and number of purchased or sold securities; b. the volume, date and time of the transaction; c. the price; and d. the details necessary to identify the beneficial owner. 2 The reporting duty also applies to transactions in derivatives whose underlying instruments are securities admitted to trading on a trading venue. 3 The reporting duty applies not only to transactions on own account, but also to transactions executed on behalf of a client. 4 The following transactions executed abroad do not have to be reported: a. transactions in securities admitted to trading on a trading venue in Switzerland and in derivatives with such securities as their underlying instruments, provided the information in question is regularly communicated to the trading venue on the basis
Para. 4 let. a let. 1 — Term in accordance with Annex 1 No II 14 of the Financial Institutions Ordinance of 6 Nov. 2019, in force since 1 Jan. 2020 (AS 2019 4633). This amendment has been made throughout the text.
Section 3 Organised Trading Facilities
Art. 38 Authorisation and recognition conditions
(Art. 43 para. 1 FinMIA) The authorisation and recognition conditions that apply to the operator of an organised trading facility are based on the financial market acts pursuant to Article 1 paragraph 1 of the Financial Market Supervision Act of 22 June 2007.
SR 956.1
Art. 39 Organisation and prevention of conflicts of interest
(Art. 44 FinMIA) 1 The operator of an organised trading facility shall issue regulations on the organisation of trading and monitor compliance with the statutory and regulatory provisions, as well as the trading process. 2 It shall keep a chronological record of all orders and transactions carried out through the organised trading facility. 3 In the event of agreements being made according to discretionary rules, identical client orders may be matched only if best execution can be guaranteed. Exceptions are permissible only if the clients concerned have expressly waived any claim to best possible execution.
Art. 40 Guarantee of orderly trading
(Art. 45 FinMIA) The operator of an organised trading facility shall set transparent rules and procedures for fair, efficient and orderly trading, as well as objective criteria for the effective execution of orders. It must have measures in place to ensure the robust management of technical processes and the operation of its systems in accordance with Article 30 paragraphs 2 to 4.
Art. 41 Algorithmic trading and high-frequency trading
(Art. 45 FinMIA) In order to prevent disruptions to its trading facility, the operator of an organised trading facility must take effective measures in accordance with Article 31.
Art. 42 Pre-trade transparency
(Art. 46 paras. 2 and 3 FinMIA) 1 In the case of multilateral trading and bilateral trading where a liquid market exists, Articles 27 and 29 apply by analogy. 2 In the case of bilateral trading where no liquid market exists, price quotes on demand shall suffice.
Art. 43 Post-trade transparency for securities
(Art. 46 paras. 1 and 2 FinMIA) 1 In the case of multilateral trading, Article 28 paragraphs 1 and 4 as well as Article 29 apply by analogy. 2 In the case of bilateral trading, aggregated publication at the end of the trading day shall suffice.
Chapter 3 Central Counterparties
Art. 44 Function
(Art. 48 FinMIA) The central counterparty shall ensure, in particular, the standardised recording of all details of the transactions cleared by it, the positions of the participants and its reports to trade repositories.
Art. 45 Organisation, business continuity and IT systems
(Art. 8, 13 and 14 FinMIA) 1 The central counterparty must appoint a risk committee that includes representatives of the participants, of the indirect participants and members of the body for governance, supervision and control. This committee shall advise the central counterparty on all matters that could have an impact on the risk management of the central counterparty. 2 The central counterparty shall arrange procedures, capacity planning and sufficient capacity reserves so that, in the event of a disruption, its systems can still process all transactions still open by the close of trading.
Art. 46 Collateral
(Art. 49 FinMIA) 1 If predefined thresholds are exceeded, the central counterparty shall call in initial margins and variation margins at least once a day. 2 It shall avoid concentration risks in the collateral and shall ensure that it can have prompt access to the collateral. 3 It shall make provision for procedures by means of which it can review the models and parameters on which its risk management is based, and shall conduct these reviews on a regular basis. 4 If the central counterparty holds its own assets or the collateral and assets of participants with third parties, it shall minimise the associated risks. In particular, it shall hold the collateral and assets with creditworthy financial intermediaries which, insofar as possible, are subject to supervision.
Art. 47 Exchange-of-value settlement
(Art. 50 FinMIA) The central counterparty shall enable participants to eliminate their principal risk by ensuring that the settlement of one obligation occurs if and only if the settlement of the other obligation is guaranteed.
Art. 48 Capital adequacy
(Art. 51 FinMIA) 1 The central counterparty must hold a minimum capital in the amount of 8.0% in accordance with Article 42 paragraph 1 letter b CAO. FINMA may demand additional capital in accordance with Article 45 CAO. Titles 1 to 3 CAO apply to the calculation. 2 The dedicated capital in accordance with Article 53 paragraph 2 letter c FinMIA shall amount to at least 25% of the required capital set out in Title 3 CAO. 3 The central counterparty shall hold further capital in order to cover the costs of a voluntary cessation of business or restructuring. In the case of systemically important central counterparties, this capital must suffice to implement the plan set out in Article 72, but must at least be sufficient to cover ongoing operating expenditure for six months. 4 In special cases, FINMA can ease the requirements set out in the paragraphs 1 to 3 or impose more rigorous requirements. 5 The central counterparty must have a plan that sets out how further capital is to be procured
Para. 1 — SR 952.03 Para. 1 — Amended by Annex No 5 of the O of 29 Nov. 2023, in force since 1 Jan. 2025 (AS 2024 13). Para. 1 — Amended by Attachment No 2 to the O of 11 May 2016, in force since 1 July 2016 (AS 2016 1725).
Art. 49 Risk diversification
(Art. 51 FinMIA) The central counterparty shall monitor credit risks vis-à-vis an individual counterparty or a group of associated counterparties based on the calculation principles set out in Section 4 of Chapter 1 of Title 4 CAO.
SR 952.03
Art. 50 Liquidity
(Art. 52 FinMIA) 1 The following are deemed to constitute liquidity in a currency as set out in Article 52 paragraph 1 FinMIA: a. cash balances in this currency with a central bank or a creditworthy financial institution; b. cash balances in other currencies that can be converted into this currency in a timely manner through foreign exchange transactions; c. contractually committed and approved unsecured lines of credit in this currency with a creditworthy financial institution that can be used without any further credit decision; d. collateral in accordance with Article 49 FinMIA and assets that can be converted into cash in this currency in a timely manner through sales; e. collateral in accordance with Article 49 FinMIA and assets that can be converted into cash in this currency in a timely manner by means of contractually committed and secured lines of credit or contractually committed repo lines with central banks or creditworthy financial institutions. 2 The central counterparty
Art. 51 Portability
(Art. 55 FinMIA) 1 Portability is ensured if: a. the transfer is enforceable in the relevant jurisdictions; and b. the other participant has an obligation towards the indirect participant to assume the latter's collateral and positions. 2 If a transfer cannot take place by the deadline set by the central counterparty, the central counterparty may take all precautions in accordance with its regulations to actively manage the risks with respect to the positions in question, including the liquidation of assets and collateral of the participant in default who holds this for the account of an indirect participant or its clients.
Chapter 4 Central Securities Depositories
Art. 52 Organisation
(Art. 8 FinMIA) 1 The central securities depository shall set up a user committee for every securities settlement system operated by it, on which the issuers and participants in these securities settlement systems are represented. 2 The user committee shall advise the central securities depository in key matters affecting issuers and participants.
Art. 53 Principles for the custody, recording and transfer of securities
(Art. 62 FinMIA) Central securities depositories that use a common settlement infrastructure shall establish identical times for: a. the entry of payment and transfer orders into the system of the common settlement infrastructure; b. the irrevocability of payment and transfer orders.
Art. 54 Collateral
(Art. 64 FinMIA) 1 The central securities depository must have sufficient collateral in order to fully cover its current credit exposure. 2 It shall avoid concentration risks in the collateral and shall ensure that it can have prompt access to the collateral. 3 It shall make provision for procedures by means of which it can review the models and parameters on which its risk management is based, and shall conduct these reviews on a regular basis. 4 If it holds its own assets or the collateral and assets of participants with third parties, it shall minimise the associated risks. In particular, it shall hold the collateral and assets with creditworthy financial intermediaries which, insofar as possible, are subject to supervision.
Art. 55 Exchange-of-value settlement
(Art. 65 FinMIA) The central securities depository shall enable participants to eliminate their principal risk by ensuring that the settlement of one obligation occurs if and only if the settlement of the other obligation is guaranteed.
Art. 56 Capital adequacy
(Art. 66 FinMIA) 1 The central securities depository must hold a minimum capital in the amount of 8.0% in accordance with Article 42 paragraph 1 letter b CAO. FINMA may demand additional capital in accordance with Article 45 CAO. Titles 1 to 3 CAO apply to the calculation. 2 For all other matters, Article 48 paragraphs 3 to 6 apply by analogy.
Para. 1 — SR 952.03 Para. 1 — Amended by Annex No 5 of the O of 29 Nov. 2023, in force since 1 Jan. 2025 (AS 2024 13). Para. 1 — Amended by Attachment No 2 to the Ordinance of 11 May 2016, in force since 1 July 2016 (AS 2016 1725).
Art. 57 Risk diversification
(Art. 66 FinMIA) The central securities depository shall monitor credit risks vis-à-vis an individual counterparty or a group of associated counterparties based on the calculation principles set out in Section 4 of Chapter 1 of Title 4 CAO.
SR 952.03
Art. 58 Liquidity
(Art. 67 FinMIA) 1 The following are deemed to constitute liquidity in a currency as set out in Article 67 paragraph 1 FinMIA: a. cash balances in this currency with a central bank or a creditworthy financial institution; b. cash balances in other currencies that can be converted into this currency in a timely manner through foreign exchange transactions; c. contractually committed and approved unsecured lines of credit in this currency with a creditworthy financial institution that can be used without any further credit decision; d. collateral in accordance with Article 64 FinMIA and assets that can be converted into cash in this currency in a timely manner through sales; e. collateral in accordance with Article 64 FinMIA and assets that can be converted into cash in this currency in a timely manner by means of contractually committed and secured lines of credit or contractually committed repo lines with central banks or creditworthy financial institutions. 2 The central securities de
Chapter 4a DLT Trading Facilities
Inserted by No I 10 of the O of 18 June 2021 on the Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments in Distributed Ledger Technology, in force since 1 Aug. 2021 (AS 2021 400).
Section 1 Definitions
Art. 58a Multilateral trading and non-discretionary rules
(Art. 73a para. 1 FinMIA) The definitions for multilateral trading and non-discretionary rules under Articles 22 and 23 apply by analogy to DLT trading facilities.
Art. 58b Commercial activity
(Art. 73a para. 2 FinMIA) 1 A DLT trading facility is operating commercially if it: a. thereby generates gross earnings of more than CHF 50,000 per calendar year; b. per calendar year, has a business relationship with more than 20 participants in accordance with Article 73c paragraph 1 letter e of the FinMIA (private participants) or with at least one participant in accordance with Article 73c paragraph 1 letters a to d of the FinMIA; or c. has unlimited power of disposal over third-party DLT securities that exceed CHF 5 million at any given time. 2 If a threshold under paragraph 1 is exceeded, the DLT trading facility must report this to FINMA within 10 days. It must submit an application for authorisation as provided for in the FinMIA to FINMA within 60 days. 3 Provided the protective purpose of the FinMIA is not affected, FINMA may prohibit the applicant from exercising the activities reserved to a DLT trading facility until the decision is made on the application for authorisation.
Section 2 Requirements
Art. 58c Applicability of certain requirements for trading venues
(Art. 73b FinMIA) 1 Unless otherwise specified in this Section, Articles 24 to 32 and Article 35 apply by analogy to DLT trading facilities. 2 Instead of the option under Article 30 paragraph 2 letter f to cancel, amend or correct any transaction in exceptional cases, a DLT trading facility must have a mechanism in place that achieves an economically equivalent effect.
Art. 58d Record-keeping and reporting duty
(Art. 73c para. 3 FinMIA) 1 Private participants are exempt from the record-keeping duty under Article 38 of the FinMIA and the reporting duty under Article 39 of the FinMIA. 2 Articles 36 and 37 of this Ordinance apply by analogy to the other participants.
Art. 58e Admission and exclusion of participants
(Art. 73c paras. 4 and 5 FinMIA) 1 The DLT trading facility shall regulate in the regulations in accordance with Article 73c paragraph 5 of the FinMIA whether and which private participants will be admitted. 2 The granting of non-discriminatory access in accordance with Article 18 of the FinMIA is not binding for private participants.
Art. 58f Admission of DLT securities and other assets
(Art. 73d FinMIA) 1 The DLT trading facility shall regulate in the regulations in accordance with Article 73d of the FinMIA which DLT securities and other assets will be admitted to its services. It may specify the admitted DLT securities and assets individually in the regulations or define them according to their type and function. 2 If the DLT trading facility admits derivatives designed as DLT securities, only products without fair value or leverage components may be admitted to trading. 3 DLT securities and other assets which significantly hinder the implementation of the provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 10 October 1997, or which could adversely affect the stability and integrity of the financial system may not be admitted. FINMA can define these DLT securities and assets in more detail. 4 The DLT trading facility shall make provision in the regulations for revoking the admission of DLT securities and other assets. 5 The requirements under Article 34 apply by analogy.
Para. 3 — SR 955.0
Art. 58g Minimum requirements for the admission of DLT securities and regular auditing
(Art. 73d para. 3 FinMIA) 1 DLT securities may be admitted by the DLT trading facility if the distributed ledger meets at least the requirements under Article 973d paragraph 2 of the CO. 2 If the distributed ledger is not operated by the relevant DLT trading facility itself, the facility shall audit the ledger before admitting the relevant DLT securities and regularly thereafter, but at least once a year, for compliance with the requirements under paragraph 1. 3 It shall inform its participants of the audits performed and of the findings.
Para. 1 — SR 220
Art. 58h Disclosures on transactions
(Art. 73d FinMIA) 1 The DLT trading facility shall monitor all transactions conducted on its systems with admitted DLT securities. It shall disclose this data free of charge to all approved DLT trading facilities. 2 If the DLT securities admitted for trading on the DLT trading facility are based on securities which are also admitted for trading on a Swiss trading venue, the DLT trading facility shall disclose to that trading venue, free of charge, all transactions with these DLT securities. 3 The trading venues and DLT trading facilities shall use this data exclusively to fulfil their tasks in the area of trade monitoring. 4 FINMA may regulate the details of these disclosures.
Art. 58i Duty of information
(Art. 73e para. 1 FinMIA) 1 DLT trading facilities with private participants shall provide them with the associated prospectus or key information document for each DLT security admitted to the DLT trading facility. 2 They shall inform these participants of the following aspects of the distributed ledger for the relevant DLT securities: a. its governance; and b. its technical risks, specifically the risk of loss. 3 Moreover, they shall immediately publish information on the transactions in other assets carried out on the DLT trading facility, in particular the price, the volume and the time of the transactions.
Art. 58j Other requirements relating to services in the area of central custody, clearing or settlement
(Art. 73e para. 2 FinMIA) 1 Unless otherwise specified in this Section, the requirements for central securities depositories under Articles 62 to 73 of the FinMIA and 52 to 58 of this Ordinance apply by analogy for DLT trading facilities that provide services in accordance with Article 73a paragraph 1 letter b or c of the FinMIA. 2 The segregation in accordance with Article 69 of the FinMIA may take place in the distributed ledger underlying the DLT securities or in the systems of the DLT trading facility. 3 A DLT trading facility may also enable the settlement of payments in another manner than that provided for in Article 65 paragraph 1 of the FinMIA if it involves a FINMA-supervised institution for the purpose. 4 For a DLT trading facility, liquidity in a currency in accordance with Article 67 paragraph 1 of the FinMIA also includes cryptobased assets, insofar as the payment obligation is to be fulfilled in the same virtual currency. 5 In derogation from Article 52, the DLT trading
Section 3 Special requirements for small DLT tradi
Art. 58k Small DLT trading facilities
(Art. 73f FinMIA) 1 A DLT trading facility is deemed to be small if the following thresholds are undercut in relation to DLT securities: a. Annual trading volume: CHF 250 million; b. Custody volume: CHF 100 million; and c. Annual settlement volume: CHF 250 million. 2 If a threshold is reached or exceeded, the DLT trading facility must report this to FINMA within 10 days. It must submit a modified application for authorisation as provided for in the FinMIA to FINMA within 90 days. 3 The trading facility shall no longer be deemed to be small after 90 days from the time at which a threshold is reached or exceeded. The DLT trading facility may, however, continue to apply the eased requirements for small DLT trading facilities until FINMA makes its decision on the authorisation application. 4 Where this serves the protective purpose of the FinMIA, FINMA may prohibit the DLT trading facility from admitting further participants until the decision is made on the application for authorisation.
Art. 58l Easing of requirements for small DLT trading facilities
(Art. 73f FinMIA) 1 In derogation from the FinMIA and from this Ordinance, the following eased requirements apply for small DLT trading facilities: a. In derogation from Article 8 paragraph 2 second sentence of the FinMIA and Article 8 paragraph 2 second sentence of this Ordinance, it is sufficient if the majority of the members of the bodies responsible for overall management, supervision and control are not members of the body responsible for business management. b. If the provision of ancillary services not subject to authorisation or approval by virtue of financial market legislation increases the risks of a DLT trading facility, FINMA may require exclusively organisational measures (Art. 10 para. 3 of the FinMIA). If the DLT trading facility also operates an organised trading facility (Art. 43 of the FinMIA), FINMA may require additional capital and sufficient liquidity. c. The business continuity requirements may also be met by having another authorisation holder take over the op
Art. 58m Duty of information for small DLT trading facilities
(Art. 73f FinMIA) Before establishing a business relationship, small DLT trading facilities shall inform their clients, in writing or in another form demonstrable by text, of the specific eased requirements which the small DLT trading facility is applying.
Art. 58n Minimum capital for small DLT trading facilities
(Art. 73f FinMIA) For small DLT trading facilities, the minimum capital requirement is: a. CHF 500,000 if they do not provide services in accordance with Article 73a paragraph 1 letter b or c; b. 5% of the DLT securities in custody, but at least CHF 500,000 if they provide services in accordance with Article 73a paragraph 1 letter b or c.
Art. 58o Prohibition on lending
(Art. 73f FinMIA) Small DLT trading facilities may not grant loans.
Chapter 5 Trade Repositories
Art. 59 Ancillary services
(Art. 10 FinMIA) If the trade repository offers ancillary services, it must provide these in a way that is operationally segregated from its essential services.
Art. 60 Data retention
(Art. 75 FinMIA) 1 The trade repository must do the following with respect to the reported data: a. record it immediately and completely; b. save it both online and offline; c. copy it to an appropriate extent. 2 It shall record all changes to the reported data, providing information on: a. at whose request the change was made; b. the reasons for the change; c. the time the change was made; d. and providing a clear description of the change.
Art. 61 Publication of data
(Art. 76 FinMIA) 1 The trade repository shall publish at least weekly the open positions, transaction volumes and values for the following derivative categories: a. commodity derivatives; b. credit derivatives; c. currency derivatives; d. equity derivatives; e. interest rate derivatives; f. other derivatives. 2 The data must be easily accessible for the public. 3 It should not be possible to draw conclusions with respect to a contracting party on the basis of the data published.
Art. 62 Data access for Swiss authorities
(Art. 77 FinMIA) 1 The trade repository shall grant the following authorities access to the data, whereby paragraph 2 remains reserved: a. FINMA: all transaction data; b. the SNB: all transaction data; c. the Swiss Takeover Board: derivative transaction data with a connection to takeover proceedings; d. the Federal Audit Oversight Authority: derivative transaction data that it requires in specific supervisory proceedings involving audit firms; e. the Competition Commission: derivative transaction data with a connection to proceedings in the field of competition; f. the Electricity Commission: transaction data on derivatives whose underlying instrument relates to electricity. 2 The trade repository shall reject enquiries concerning transactions and positions of central banks.
Art. 63 Data access for foreign authorities
(Art. 78 FinMIA) 1 The trade repository shall grant foreign financial market supervisory authorities access to transaction data solely for the purposes of enforcing financial market law under their responsibility. 2 The trade repository shall reject enquiries concerning transactions and positions of central banks.
Art. 64 Procedure
(Art. 77 and 78 FinMIA) 1 The access of authorities shall be structured in line with the communication protocols, data exchange standards and reference data that are commonplace at the international level. 2 The authorities must take suitable measures to ensure that only the employees who directly require the data for exercising their activities gain access to the data. 3 The trade repository shall provide the authorities with a form for their enquiries in which the following information is required: a. details of the authority; b. reason for the data enquiry and relevance to its mandate; c. legal basis for the data enquiry; d. a description of the data it is requesting; e. an illustration of the measures it has taken to ensure the confidentiality of data received. 4 From foreign authorities, it shall additionally request confirmation that an agreement is in place between the foreign and Swiss authorities in accordance with Article 78 paragraph 1 FinMIA. 5 The trade repository shall ke
Art. 65 Data transmission to private individuals
(Art. 79 FinMIA) 1 The trade repository shall provide private individuals with a form for their enquiries in which the following information is required: a. personal details; b. reason for the data enquiry; c. a description of the data being requested. 2 It should not be possible to draw conclusions with respect to another contracting party on the basis of the data transferred.
Chapter 6 Payment Systems
Art. 66 Clearing and settlement principles
(Art. 82 FinMIA) 1 The payment system shall ensure the proper and lawful clearing and settlement of payment obligations. 2 It shall specify the time: a. after which a payment order is irrevocable and may no longer be changed; b. when a payment is settled. 3 Payment systems that use a common settlement infrastructure shall establish identical times for: a. the entry of payment orders into the system of the common settlement infrastructure; b. the irrevocability of payment orders. 4 The payment system shall settle payments in real time if possible, but at the latest at the end of the value day.
Art. 67 Collateral
(Art. 82 FinMIA) 1 The payment system shall use appropriate measures to cover risks arising from the granting of credit. 2 It shall accept only liquid collateral with low credit and market risks. It shall value the collateral prudently. 3 It shall avoid concentration risks in the collateral and shall ensure that it can have prompt access to the collateral. 4 It shall make provision for procedures by means of which it can review the models and parameters on which its risk management is based, and shall conduct these reviews on a regular basis. 5 If it holds its own assets or the collateral and assets of participants with third parties, it shall minimise the associated risks. In particular, it shall hold the collateral and assets with creditworthy financial intermediaries which, insofar as possible, are subject to supervision.
Art. 68 Fulfilment of payment obligations
(Art. 82 FinMIA) 1 The payment system shall enable the settlement of payments by transferring sight deposits held with a central bank. 2 If this is impossible or impractical, it shall use a means of payment which carries no or only low credit and liquidity risks. It shall minimise these risks and monitor them on an ongoing basis. 3 Where exchange-of-value settlement is concerned, the payment system shall enable participants to eliminate their principal risk by ensuring that the settlement of one obligation occurs if and only if the settlement of the other obligation is guaranteed.
Art. 69 Capital adequacy
(Art. 82 FinMIA) In the case of systemically important payment systems, the capital must suffice to implement the plan set out in Article 72, but must at least be sufficient to cover ongoing operating expenditure for six months.
Art. 70 Liquidity
(Art. 82 FinMIA) 1 The payment system must have sufficient liquidity in accordance with Article 58 paragraph 1: a. to fulfil its payment obligations in all currencies under extreme but plausible market conditions, even in the event of the default of the participant to which it has its greatest exposure; and b. to be able to duly execute its services and activities. 2 It shall invest its financial resources solely in cash or in liquid financial instruments with a low market and credit risk. 3 It shall regularly review compliance with the requirements set out in paragraph 1 under various stress scenarios. In doing so, it shall apply collateral discounts (haircuts) to the liquidity that would be appropriate even under extreme but plausible market conditions. It shall diversify its sources of liquidity. 4 The investment strategy of the payment system must be in harmony with its risk management strategy. It must avoid concentration risks.
Chapter 7 Supervision and Oversight
Art. 71 Auditing
(Art. 84 para. 1 FinMIA) 1 The audit firm of the financial market infrastructure shall review whether the latter fulfils the relevant duties as set forth in legislation, this Ordinance and its own contractual basis. 2 The audit firm of the trading venue shall coordinate its audit with the latter's trading supervisory body and shall pass on its audit reports to this body.
Art. 72 Voluntary authorisation return
(Art. 86 FinMIA) 1 Systemically important financial market infrastructures shall draw up a plan as to how their systemically important business processes are to be terminated in an orderly way in the event of a voluntary cessation of business. The orderly wind-down plan shall take into account the period of time required for the participants to sign up to an alternative financial market infrastructure. It must be approved by the body responsible for governance, supervision and control. 2 Paragraph 1 also applies if the cessation of a systemically important business process does not lead to the return of the authorisation.
Chapter 8 Insolvency Law Provisions
Art. 73 System protection
(Art. 89 FinMIA) 1 The orders of participants include in particular instructions that: a. directly affect the settlement of payments or securities transactions; or b. serve the purpose of providing the financing or collateral required under the system's rules. 2 A payment or transfer order may not be revoked either by a participant in the system or by a third party from the time set out in Article 62 paragraph 4 letter a FinMIA and Article 66 paragraph 2 letter a of this Ordinance.
Art. 74 Primacy of agreements in the event of insolvency
(Art. 90 and 91 FinMIA) 1 The offsetting agreements shall include in particular netting provisions as well as the default agreements contained in bilateral or framework agreements. 2 The transfer of receivables and liabilities is understood to mean in particular the assignment, cancellation, refounding via agreement and the closure of a position and subsequent reopening of an equivalent position. 3 In the event of a transfer of a position, any collateral in the form of securities or other assets whose value can be determined objectively are automatically transferred, insofar as they were passed on within the transaction chain, to the taking-over participant.
Art. 75 Postponement of the termination of contracts
(Art. 92 FinMIA) 1 The following contracts in particular may be postponed: a. contracts on the purchase, sale, repurchase and lending of securities and book-entry securities and on trading in options on securities and book-entry securities; b. contracts on the purchase and sale with future delivery of commodities and on trading in options on commodities or on commodity deliveries; c. contracts on the purchase, sale or transfer of goods, services, rights or interest at a price and future date determined in advance (futures trades/forward trading); d. contracts on swap transactions relating to currencies, precious metals, loans and securities, book-entry securities, commodities and their indices. 2 The financial market infrastructure shall ensure that new agreements or amendments to existing agreements which are subject to foreign law or envisage a foreign jurisdiction are agreed only if the counterparty recognises a postponement of the termination of agreements in accordance with Articl