Newsletter 133 from May 17, 2010 Consultation on the proposed amendements to the Stock Exchange Act

Newsletter 133 - Consultation on the proposed amendments to the Stock Exchange Act concerning stock exchange offences and market abuse - Responding to the consultation on the proposed amendments to the Stock Exchange Act, FINMA declared itself in favour of transferring regulations on a ban on insider transactions and price manipulation from the penal code to the Stock Exchange Act. It is also in favour of introducing general market supervision and an administrative pecuniary sanction for partially supervised persons and entities. FINMA supports the competence of the Federal Attorney’s Office and the federal courts to prosecute and judge stock exchange offences. On the other hand, it opposes the idea of granting the Federal Attorney’s Office competence to delegate the handling of simple cases to the cantons. Moreover, FINMA supports a clear delimitation of supervisory and criminal law. Concerning regulation on disclosure of shareholdings, the power to suspend voting rights should be transferred from the civil judge to FINMA, while for public takeover offers this power should be exercised by the Takeover Board (TOB). The statement issued by FINMA can be viewed on its website.