1. Swiss Parliament adopted Investment Screening Act (FDI Control)
 

In December 2025, the Swiss Parliament adopted the Investment Screening Act. This law introduces a legal instrument for reviewing domestic company takeovers by foreign investors for the first time (Foreign Direct Investment Control). The new Investment Screening Act is thus intended to prevent takeovers that endanger Switzerland’s public order or security. To this end, certain takeovers of Swiss companies will require the approval of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). This applies in particular to companies operating in security-critical sectors that are to be taken over by state-controlled foreign investors. Investments by private foreign investors are not subject to the new law. However, the law is not expected to come into force until 2027 at the earliest. 

2. Amendment to the Ordinance on Minimum Taxation of Large Corporate Groups 
 

On January 1, 2026, amendments to the Ordinance on Minimum Taxation of Large Corporate Groups (MindStV; SR 642.161) came into force. These amendments implement the international reporting requirements (GloBE Declaration) and the exchange of information with partner countries. Affected multinational groups with annual revenues of at least EUR 750 million can submit information on their global activities centrally to the Federal Tax Administration (FTA), rather than in each partner country separately. The FTA then forwards this information to the partner countries. Conversely, the FTA also receives declarations from partner countries containing the information required for the implementation of minimum taxation in Switzerland. This reduces the administrative burden on companies.  

3. Regulatory Changes Related to the Automatic Exchange of Information in Tax Matters 
 

Based on the Federal Act and Ordinance on the International Automatic Exchange of Information in Tax Matters (AIAG; SR 653.1 / AIAV; SR 653.11), Switzerland exchanges information on financial accounts with other countries ("automatic exchange of information" or "AEOI"). Until now, however, only information on traditional assets has been exchanged. On January 1, 2026, amendments to the ordinance came into force, extending the reporting framework to crypto assets. Although the new reporting framework (MRK) will be enshrined in law from January 2026, the provisions on crypto assets will not apply in 2026. The first exchange with 74 countries, including all EU Member States, is scheduled for 2027 (https://www.sif.admin.ch/en/newnsb/oAaJyRFS1lqJ7PN3sLJTP). 

4. FINMA Guidance 01/2026 
 

Against the backdrop of the growing importance of crypto based assets and related services provided by supervised Swiss institutions, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) published the Guidance 01/2026 "Custody of crypto based assets" on January 12, 2026. In its new guidance, FINMA specifies that supervised institutions must address the operational risks arising from the provision of services related to crypto based assets by means of a robust technical infrastructure and sufficient internal expertise. FINMA also sets out the measures it expects institutions supervised in Switzerland to take in order to address the specific risks arising from custody agreements in connection with crypto based assets (https://www.finma.ch/en/news/2026/01/20260112-mm-am-01-26/). 

5. Entry into Force of the Berne Financial Services Agreement 
 

The Berne Financial Services Agreement (BFSA; SR 0.950.136.7) was signed between Switzerland and the United Kingdom in December 2023 and entered into force on January 1, 2026. This agreement enables mutual market access in the financial services and insurance sector. Among other things, Swiss financial services suppliers now have the option of providing cross-border investment services to certain clients in the United Kingdom without requiring additional authorization from British authorities. Similarly, under the agreement, British insurance companies can provide cross-border services in Switzerland in selected areas of non-life insurance.