11/01/21

SWITZERLAND: UK And Jurisdiction Set To Allow Trading In Each Other's Company Shares.

As published on morningstar.co.uk, Saturday 9 January, 2021.

(Alliance News) - The UK Treasury on Friday confirmed that it will put in place legislation to allow UK companies to be traded on Swiss stock exchanges and that Switzerland has promised to reciprocate by allowing UK exchanges to trade Swiss shares.

The confirmation followed stock market equivalence discussions held at a ministerial level between the UK and Switzerland at the end of June. The UK's ability to confer equivalence for stock trading follows the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31, as the EU and Switzerland have no such agreement in place.

Large Swiss companies traded in Zurich and soon to be able to be traded in London include food and health products maker Nestle SA, pharmaceutical firm Roche Holding AG, and building materials producer LafargeHolcim Ltd.

Back in September, Switzerland's State Secretariat for International Finance and the UK Treasury held a meeting on "how to deepen cooperation in financial services through an ambitious and comprehensive mutual recognition agreement, and suitable next steps in the coming months", as the UK prepared for Brexit. The meeting also was attended by officials from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, the Swiss National Bank, the Bank of England, and the UK Financial Conduct Authority.