A new reference work for trust professionals has just been published: “The Trustee in International Practice: Regulation, Powers, and Governance”, released by Wolters Kluwer in cooperation with STEP Italy. The volume includes a chapter dedicated to Switzerland, authored by Capital Trustees
At a glance:
- Swiss trustees qualify as financial institutions under FinIA and FinIO
- A FINMA license requires defined organizational and professional standards
- AMLA, AMLO, LETA and FADP shape ongoing compliance and governance duties
- PTCs and DTCs may qualify for exemptions from licensing requirements
Trustees as regulated financial institutions
The chapter offers a detailed overview of the Swiss regulatory framework applicable to trustees, starting from their qualification as financial institutions under the Financial Institutions Act (FinIA) and its ordinance (FinIO). This classification is the starting point for understanding which organisational and professional standards a trustee must meet in order to obtain — and maintain — a FINMA license.
Compliance and governance obligations
Beyond licensing, the chapter examines how the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), its ordinance (AMLO), the Financial Services Act (LETA) and the Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) shape the day-to-day activity of Swiss trustees. These provisions define concrete compliance and governance obligations that professional trustees must embed into their operating structures, from client due diligence to data handling.
Licensing exemptions for PTCs and DTCs
Finally, the chapter addresses the FINMA authorisation and supervisory framework in detail, including the specific conditions under which certain structures — such as Private Trust Companies (PTCs) and Dedicated Trust Companies (DTCs) — may qualify for exemptions from licensing requirements.
Why it matters
Switzerland has positioned itself among the jurisdictions with the clearest and most structured supervisory regime for trustees, a factor that matters increasingly to families and advisers evaluating where to locate a trust structure. For practitioners based in Ticino and across Switzerland, contributions like this chapter — grounded in day-to-day regulatory practice — are a useful benchmark for keeping governance and compliance frameworks aligned with FINMA’s expectations.
Source: Capital Trustees AG.