The risk of being sued by those damaged by regulatory or enforcement action: over‐regulation of financial services?

Discusses the impact of regulatory and enforcement action on banking and financial services, focusing on Switzerland, which is one of the most developed financial centres. Describes the recent increase in legislation which introduces corporate criminal liability, plus the far‐reaching Money Laundering Ordinance with its stronger due diligence requirements. Points out that in the field of financial services, liberalisation and globalisation have been met with more rather than less regulation. Concludes that, while greater regulation can be viewed as a reasonable price to pay for globalised financial services, the over‐regulation of Swiss financial services needs to be rationalised.