Banking & Finance

In the Swiss financial market, our banking and financial experts are highly experienced in advising banks, financial institutions and other financial service providers on transactions and regulatory matters.

We assist our clients not only with licences applications to FINMA but also in their dealings with said regulatory body and other supervisory agencies.

We work with numerous top-ranking lenders, such as banks, issuers, and private equity investors or funds to help them carrying financial transactions all over the world. Whether you are a lender or borrower, we are known for our outstanding specialized expertise and sound judgment, based on previous assignments for all kinds of clients, including the most active ones in the market.

Our practice covers all aspects of capital structuring and financial regulation, including the acquisition, and financing of assets and investments, as well as securities lending, restructuring and insolvency issues; and complex litigation (including cases of fraud and cross-border asset recovery).

We are also advising high-net-worth private clients and entrepreneurs, who, historically, have constituted the backbone of our Firm’s clientele. We are particularly well positioned to assist with the financing of real estate and art.

Conducting business in the financial sector usually requires a prior authorization from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (“FINMA”). Borel & Barbey has strong experience in obtaining such authorizations for clients, whether banks, insurers, securities firms, collective asset managers, collective investment schemes, wealth managers or trustees.

We also advise foreign and Swiss services providers, particularly family offices, to determine whether or not the activity they intend to carry out in Switzerland requires prior authorisation or not.

Swiss regulation of financial services has undergone major developments in recent years with the adoption of the Federal Financial Services Act (“FinSA”), and the regulatory environment has become more complex. The risks associated with conducting regulated activities have increased and FINMA is playing a more active role, with reinforced disciplinary powers and a growing willingness to work together with financial stakeholders.

Borel & Barbey helps its clients, whether subject to authorization in Switzerland or not, to navigate through the Swiss regulatory framework, whether with the rules of conduct under FinSA that regulate their activities or the incorporation of those requirements into their internal regulations and the contracts binding them with their clients. We also help financial advisors evaluate the regulatory perimeter in which they operate to determine they need to register in accordance with FinSA articles 28 et seqq. We advise Swiss-based or foreign investments funds on the structuring and distribution of funds.

Our financial services team is made up of highly specialized, experienced and skilled lawyers, with in-depth knowledge not only of the complex frameworks of statutory regulations in which our clients operate, but also of the practice of independent supervisory authorities.

When financial services providers are confronted with a regulatory issue, criminal offense or an IT incident, we assist such clients with internal investigations intended to establish the facts of the case and with the reports to be submitted to FINMA or to another supervisory body, or in the context of enforcement proceeding that may be initiated by FINMA.

Borel & Barbey have substantial experience in advising clients (borrowers and lenders) on a wide range of public and private financial transactions.

Our clients operate in several industries of various sizes, including private equity firms, asset managers, banks and other financial institutions, financing companies or issuers of fixed income bonds, mezzanine lenders, product manufacturers, retailers, service providers and high-tech companies.

Borel & Barbey will help you to structure financing transactions, including syndicated, secured or unsecured credit financing, in all areas, including corporate finance (in particular bond issues or convertible loans), real estate finance, project and infrastructure financing or financial restructurings. We are familiar with national and international documentation. We strive to gain an in-depth understanding of our clients’ businesses so that we can work together closely with their managers to implement the financing structures best suited to their needs.

Our financing team also includes lawyers from our departments of corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, capital investment, intellectual property, and tax consulting.

Fintech businesses operate in areas that are or will soon be highly regulated, such as payment services, financial transactions, investment services, blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).

Whether you develop, supply or invest in financial technology, we are familiar with the opportunities and challenges you are facing and know that companies may have very different approaches and risk appetites depending on their position in the Fintech sector.

To meet our clients’ needs in this sector, Borel & Barbey has put together a highly specialized team made up of experts from our departments of finance, mergers and acquisitions, financial regulation, intellectual property rights and personal data protection law, so that we can provide our clients with complete interdisciplinary advice on the most important legal questions for their growth and investments in the Fintech sector.

Borel & Barbey advises financial institutions of all sizes on how to develop their business activities and interact with the authorities. Our team is proud to help make financial institutions successful by proposing innovative solutions and defending their interests, especially when they are subject to enforcement proceedings. We are the preferred contact of numerous financial institutions concerned about complying with increasingly complex financial regulation at all times.

We endeavour to provide fast, pragmatic and effective responses to any problem or challenge that may be faced by our clients. Our long history has enabled us to build a constructive relationship with the supervisory authorities.

OUR SPECIALISTS IN BANKING & FINANCE
OUR SPECIALISTS IN AUTHORIZATIONS
OUR SPECIALISTS IN REGULATION OF FINANCIAL SERVICES
OUR SPECIALISTS IN ENFORCEMENT
OUR SPECIALISTS IN FINANCING
OUR SPECIALISTS IN FINTECH
OUR SPECIALISTS IN FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

Alexandre de Weck

Managing partner

Michel Barbey

Partner

Luca Bozzo

Partner

Nora Battisti

Associate

Audrey Tasso

Associate

Viviana Cibelli

Associate

Clément Bouvier

Associate