Foreign market participants

Foreign market participants (remote members) must be authorised by SFMA before they can access a Swiss trading venue.

This SFMA page gives applicants and supervised institutions a practical view of the foreign market participants topic. It explains when a licence, approval, notification or registration may be needed, what information should be prepared, and which changes may require contact with the authority.

Authorisation requirements

The review focuses on whether the applicant is organised in a way that is suitable for foreign market participants within the Financial market infrastructures and foreign market participants area. SFMA will normally look at governance, financial resources, responsible persons, risk controls, compliance arrangements, auditability, outsourcing and whether the planned activity can be carried out without creating avoidable risks for clients, investors, policyholders or market integrity.

Changes to licensing requirements

The review focuses on whether the applicant is organised in a way that is suitable for foreign market participants within the Financial market infrastructures and foreign market participants area. SFMA will normally look at governance, financial resources, responsible persons, risk controls, compliance arrangements, auditability, outsourcing and whether the planned activity can be carried out without creating avoidable risks for clients, investors, policyholders or market integrity.

Preparing a complete file

Applicants should keep the submission concise but complete: describe the activity, legal structure, people responsible, control framework, financial resources, relevant documents and any cross-border elements. Where uncertainty remains, the issue should be highlighted early rather than left to emerge during review.