THE BERNE FINANCIAL SERVICES AGREEMENT BETWEEN SWITZERLAND AND THE UNITED KINGDOM: OVERVIEW AND KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. INTRODUCTION

The Berne Financial Services Agreement (BFSA) entered into force on 1 January 2026. Signed on 21 December 2023 and approved by the Swiss Parliament in March 2025, the BFSA establishes a bilateral framework for cross-border financial services based on mutual recognition of regulatory equivalence. Both FINMA^[1] and the FCA/PRA^[2] published Implementation Guidelines.

The treaty covers five sectors through sector-specific annexes: asset management, banking, financial market infrastructures, insurance, and investment services. Each jurisdiction recognises the other's framework as achieving equivalent outcomes, allowing firms to serve clients across the border without a host-state licence while remaining home-supervised.

2. SERVICES FROM THE UK TO SWITZERLAND

2.1 INVESTMENT SERVICES

UK providers servicing Swiss clients with net assets exceeding CHF 2 million on a temporary basis are exempt from FinSA^[3]registration. UK client advisers may temporarily serve Swiss high-net-worth clients on Swiss territory without registering, subject to prior notification to the FCA and to requirements relating to sufficient knowledge of FinSA obligations, professional indemnity insurance, and, where applicable, affiliation with a Swiss ombudsman. A disclosure document must be provided to each client beforehand.

2.2 INSURANCE

UK non-life insurers may write policies for Swiss corporate policyholders without a FINMA licence or Swiss branch. Accident/health insurance, motor third-party liability, and any type of insurance subject to federal or cantonal monopolies are excluded. Their Swiss eligible clients must meet at least two of three thresholds: turnover above CHF 40 million, balance sheet above CHF 20 million, or more than 250 employees.

Before carrying out business under the BFSA, a UK insurer must be registered with FINMA. FINMA registration runs through the FCA Connect system: the PRA and FCA jointly confirm eligibility to FINMA within 30 days of receiving the insurer’s request; FINMA registers the insurer within a further 30 days.

UK insurers will need to complete a notification form available on the FCA Connect system and to provide in substance the following information:

• Firm name (trading name if different);
• Firm reference number (FRN) on the FCA’s financial services register;
• Firm contact information;
• Identify the covered services including the classes of insurance the firm wishes to provide in Switzerland;
• A self-declaration that they meet the eligibility criteria, which essentially entails
  • to be an incorporated entity under UK law which is authorised and supervised as an insurer or insurance intermediary in the UK and that engages in supplying services in respect of risks located outside Switzerland;
  • To be a non-life insurer subject to certain exceptions ;
  • To be subject to and meet Solvency II regulatory requirements without capital relief measures;
  • Staff distributing insurance in Switzerland must know Swiss insurance law;^[4]
• A declaration that the firm will comply with a set of conditions set out in the BFSA.

Pre-contractual disclosures to policyholders and annual reporting to FINMA (by 30 April via EHP^[5], automatically copied to PRA/FCA) are also required. Annual reporting must in particular include the total value of gross premiums during the reporting period if the UK insurer reports gross premiums in excess of 5 million Swiss francs in respect of BFSA-regulated activities.

UK untied insurance intermediaries are exempt from Swiss domiciliation but must register with FINMA and are also subjects to pre-contractual disclosures and annual reporting obligations. Tied agents are not covered.

2.3 OTHER SECTORS

For CCPs, the BFSA introduces a mutual deference regime simplifying cross-border authorisation. For banking, and asset management, the BFSA codifies existing equivalence without creating a specific new market access.

3. SERVICES FROM SWITZERLAND TO THE UK

3.1 INVESTMENT SERVICES

FINMA-regulated Swiss firms — banks, securities firms, fund management companies, managers of collective assets, and portfolio managers under FinIA^[6] — may serve UK clients cross-border without “Part 4A” FSMA^[7] authorisation, operating under an exclusion from the UK general prohibition. In such context, according to the FCA Guidelines, FCA and PRA rules will generally not apply. Swiss firms with a UK branch under Part 4A, however, must choose between access routes per activity — they cannot register under the BFSA for services already covered by a Part 4A authorisation without first varying or cancelling it. Fintech licence holders, trustees, “professional” financial intermediaries under article 2 paragraph 3 AMLA^[8], sole traders, and Swiss branches of foreign firms are excluded.

Permitted services cover a range of activities such as order execution, portfolio management, investment advice, market making, underwriting, custody, and M&A advisory. Ancillary services may be provided on a standalone basis. The BFSA contemplates that employees of Swiss firms may carry out activities in the UK on a temporary basis, provided this does not give rise to a permanent establishment.

Eligible UK clients include professional clients, eligible counterparties, and high-net worth-individuals with net assets exceeding GBP 2 million. For high-net-worth clients, the FCA Guidelines require detailed onboarding: verification of net assets, suitability assessment, signed declarations, and written warnings on the loss of UK protections (including the unavailability of FSCS and Financial Ombudsman). Client consent for regulatory information sharing is also required.

Eligible Swiss firms that wish to provide investment services in the UK on a cross-border basis must notify the FCA. Notification runs via EHP. Firms will need to provide the following information :

• Firm name (trading name if different).
• Firm registration number with FINMA.
• Firm contact details.
• Identify the covered services by covered financial instruments and categories of covered clients that the firm wishes to provide in the UK.
• Declare they meet the eligibility criteria which essentially entails
  • To be incorporated or formed in Switzerland.
  • To be authorised and supervised as a bank, securities firm, fund management company, manager of collective assets, or portfolio manager.
  • To be authorised by FINMA to provide the notified covered services in Switzerland.
  • To supply the relevant services in Switzerland.
  • To not have Part 4A permission for the services it has made a notification in respect of through the BFSA.

FINMA reviews eligibility within 60 days and issues a "good standing letter" to the FCA, which registers the firm within 30 days. Annual reporting to the FCA is due by 30 April, with enhanced requirements where UK turnover exceeds GBP 50 million for two consecutive years.

3.2 OTHER SECTORS

For insurance, the BFSA codifies the existing regime : Swiss insurers may continue to serve UK clients under current law. For CCPs, the BFSA creates a reciprocal deference framework. For banking and asset management, the BFSA maintains existing cross-border practices without creating new market access.

4. CONCLUSION

In force since 1 January 2026, the BFSA formalises existing cross-border practices in several sectors and opens new avenues, in particular in investment services and insurance. Financial institutions active between the two jurisdictions should review the applicability of the treaty's registration, disclosure, and deference mechanisms to their operations.

AT SKANDAMIS AVOCATS, we stand ready to assist with any enquiries regarding regulatory matters in cross-border contexts.

^{[1] Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
[2] Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)/ Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
[3] Swiss Federal Act on Financial Services of 15 June 2018 (FinSA).
[4] The VBV/AFA recognises existing UK qualifications.
[5] FINMA’s web-based survey and application platform.
[6] Swiss Federal Act on Financial Institutions of 15 June 2018 (FinIA).
[7] UK Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA).
[8] Swiss Federal Act on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing of 10 October 1997 (AMLA).}