Fee Regulations
The fee and tariff regulations govern, in particular, the costs for affiliation, ongoing supervision and other fee tariffs. In addition, they define the principles according to which fees imposed by FINMA on supervised financial institutions may be passed on to individual institutions.

Supervisory concept
The supervisory activities of OSFINcontrol Ltd primarily concern the relationship between supervised financial institutions and the supervisory organisation. Equally important, however, is the contribution and activity of external audit firms. The supervisory concept sets out the principles of supervisory and audit activities of OSFINcontrol Ltd and of external audit firms, the duties and obligations of supervised financial institutions affiliated with OSFINcontrol Ltd, as well as the powers of OSFINcontrol Ltd vis-à-vis supervised financial institutions and audit firms.

List of recognized ombudsman's offices
Below you will find the list of ombuds offices recognised by the Swiss Federal Department of Finance (FDF). OSFINcontrol Ltd does not issue any recommendations or specifications regarding the choice of an ombuds office; any ombuds office recognised by the FDF may be selected. The chosen ombuds office must be disclosed in the relevant documents of the financial institution.

Continuing Education Requirements

Based on requirements of FINMA, OSFINcontrol Ltd is not permitted to offer its own continuing education events in the areas of AMLA, FinSA and FINIA, nor does it impose any requirements regarding the specific events to be attended. Financial institutions are therefore free in their choice of continuing education programmes; the events attended must be relevant to the function performed and the business model of the respective financial institution.

For qualified managers, this is set out in Art. 25 para. 3 of the Financial Institutions Ordinance (FINIO). Furthermore,
(1) employees of a financial institution must have or receive the education and training relating to conduct rules and specific expertise required for the performance of their duties (Art. 23 FinSO), and
(2) all employees active in the area of the Anti-Money Laundering Act must be regularly trained in this area (Art. 27 AMLO-FINMA).

As a guideline, OSFINcontrol Ltd recommends attending continuing education of at least half a day per year.

Methodological Aids / Fact Sheets / Guidelines

Support offering by OSFINcontrol Ltd

The scope and level of detail of documentation packages (regulations, directives, contracts, etc.) required by FINMA for licensing or the maintenance of a licence is highly demanding and challenging for financial intermediaries. Through methodological assistance in the form of fact sheets, designed with a view to preliminary review and supervision by OSFINcontrol Ltd, we provide a form of guidance that serves as a “compass” for everyday operations as a supervised financial institution.

The target audience is financial intermediaries themselves. The fact sheets do not contain sample wording, but indicate which aspects must be addressed and regulated for each subject area.

Natur and purpose of the Fact Sheets

Taken as a whole, the fact sheets define the minimum content that must be regulated and documented. In individual cases, additions may be necessary or required. The present documents have not been reviewed or approved by FINMA.

The allocation of topics to a specific document is not always unambiguous (e.g. with regard to conflicts of interest, information, due care and transparency). What is decisive is that the relevant point is regulated, regardless of in which document. It may also make sense to merge individual documents (e.g. employee transactions and conflicts of interest).

The present fact sheets are dynamic; new findings and requirements of FINMA and/or OSFINcontrol Ltd may lead to additions. The current version of the documents is always published here.

Document Package

To illustrate the affiliation process, you will find a checklist with all necessary information, records and documents to be provided in connection with the affiliation or licensing procedure.

Wegleitung für Anschlussgesuche

Furthermore, you will find our Guideline zu Mutationen here, as well as the Financial Checklist that assists you in reviewing compliance with capital and equity requirements.

Below you will find an overview of the available fact sheets:

• Merkblatt Statuten
• Merkblatt Organisationsreglement
• Merkblatt Vermögensverwaltungsvertrag
• Merkblatt Interessenkonflikte
• Merkblatt Risikomanagement und IKS
• Merkblatt Information Sorgfalt Transparenz
• Merkblatt Umgang mit Kundschaft
• Merkblatt Verhalten im Rahmen der Vermögensverwaltung
• Merkblatt Business Continuity
• Merkblatt Mitarbeitergeschäfte
• Merkblatt Geldwäschereibekämpfung
• Merkblatt Verhalten bei Delegation

As mentioned, the thematic composition can vary at each financial institution; thus, it is possible and quite conceivable that several, especially related topics, are combined in a directive. The overview allows for the presentation of the thematic scope that is usually at least regulated. Here too, deviations are possible in individual cases or may even be necessary.

We recommend following the above order when creating internal company documentation, moving from the general (the statutes) to the specific individual issues (via the organizational regulations). The framework set by the statutes and organizational regulations thus always serves as a guide for the implementing directives.

List of Known Advisers / Consulting Firms

We recommend following the above order when preparing internal documentation, proceeding from the general to the specific. The framework set by the articles of association and organisational regulations thus always serves as guidance for the implementing directives.

• Adiuris AG
• Alithis AG
• Velaw AG
• BDO AG
• Compliance Group AG
• Cynos AG
• Grant Thornton AG
• GWP Geissbühler & Weber und Partner AG
• Kellerhals Carrard (FIDLEG Solution)
• KollerLaw Rechtsanwälte
• KPMG AG
• LEXIMPACT
• Lexpert Partners AG
• Peak Compliance AG
• Pestalozzi Rechtsanwälte AG
• PWC AG
• SwissComply AG

From OSFINcontrol Ltd's perspective, cooperation for more efficient application processing is worth considering. As mentioned, the list is continuously updated. Please note that OSFINcontrol Ltd has not entered into any agreements or obligations with any of these consulting firms or advisors. The choice for or against an application consultation always lies with the financial institutions.

Terms and conditions Preliminary examination of licence applications