Update on the Berne Financial Services Agreement

On 22 September 2025, the UK FCA, the Bank of England¹ and the Swiss Financial Markets Supervisory Authority (FINMA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under the Berne Financial Services Agreement (BFSA).  

The MOU builds on the longstanding cooperation between the Swiss and British supervisory authorities. Its purpose is to set out details regarding how the BFSA will be applied in practice and how it facilitates new cross-border activities on the basis of mutual recognition, particularly in insurance and investment services. This includes:

• submitting notifications and annual returns;
• the registration in the appropriate register;
• dialogue between the authorities; and
• the relevant supervisory authority’s right to intervene in the country of activity.

The BFSA

The BFSA was signed on 21 December 2023 to support cross-border financial services trade between the UK and Switzerland by facilitating market access in most wholesale financial services sectors, including insurance.

The BFSA is based on mutual recognition, as each country recognises the other’s supervisory and regulatory regime as being of a similarly high standard.  From an insurance perspective, the key features of the BFSA are that (i) UK regulated insurers will be able to grant insurance cover for certain classes of business to larger clients that meet certain criteria without being licenced by FINMA in Switzerland, and (ii) UK regulated insurance intermediaries will be exempt from Swiss localisation requirements, meaning that such intermediaries will not be required to have a local presence in Switzerland.

Timeline for implementation of the BFSA

Parliament must approve two statutory instruments in order to implement the UK’s commitments under the BFSA, specifically the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Mutual Recognition Agreement) (Switzerland) Regulations 2025 and the OTC Derivatives Risk Mitigation and Central Counterparties (Equivalence) (Switzerland) Regulations 2025.

These instruments were laid before Parliament on 21 July 2025 and the government’s webpage on the BFSA states that the UK and Switzerland have committed to ensuring that the agreement is fully implemented by the end of 2025, so that firms are able to register to use the BFSA on 1 January 2026.

The MoU represents the latest development in this implementation process. It will take effect on the date that the BFSA enters into force.

MoU – provisions

The provisions of the MoU express the intention of the relevant authorities to cooperate with each other in line with Article 14 of the BFSA and within the scope of Sectoral Annex 4 Section VIII (Insurance) and Annex 5 Section X (Investment Services) in order to facilitate the performance of their relevant functions and for the purpose of ensuring financial stability, market integrity and the protection of investors and consumers.

The MoU sets out how the relevant authorities will cooperate, exchange requested information, make requests for assistance, share and use information (including confidential information), and consult on or approve any amendments to the MoU.

Annex 1 of the MoU contains supplementary provisions relating to supervisory co-operation specifically in the context of insurance services.

Paragraph 6 of Annex 1 requires UK insurance services suppliers (as defined in Sectoral Annex Insurance 4 Section IV.B of the BFSA) offering services in Switzerland to report certain information to FINMA on an annual basis, and to provide a copy to the relevant UK authority.  Such information includes the supplier’s name, trading name if different and its FCA and FINMA register numbers, the types of services supplied and the total value of gross premiums for activities carried out in the previous 12 months.

Paragraph 7 of Annex 1 provides that FINMA will publish on its website the requirements regarding mandatory pre-contractual disclosures that UK insurance services suppliers offering services into Switzerland must provide to potential counterparties according to Sectoral Annex Insurance 4 Section VII.1 of the BFSA).  FINMA will also consult with the UK regulatory authorities on the format and timings of such disclosure ahead of the BFSA’s entry into force.

Next steps

In CP25/24², the FCA outlined its proposals to amend the Handbook to implement the BFSA, and in November 2025 detailed operational guidance will be published on regulator websites. 

The BFSA is currently expected to come into force on 1 January 2026. From this date, UK firms wishing to supply services via the BFSA can apply through the FCA Connect system by submitting a notification form. Once the form has been submitted, the PRA will verify eligibility and good standing within 30 days. Following verification, FINMA will place the firm on their public BFSA register within 30 days. Firms can currently register an expression of interest in order to receive further information. 

Edward Stembridge, Trainee Solicitor, assisted in the preparation of this briefing.

Footnotes:

1. Including in its capacity as the Prudential Regulation Authority.
2. See also the subsequent addendum here: CP25/24 addendum.