Published on 23 April 2026

Systemically important banks

The global financial and economic crisis in 2008 and the UBS takeover of Credit Suisse showed that a big bank encountering serious difficulties can constitute a considerable burden for the economy, even in Switzerland. The Federal Council wants to prevent such banks from being too big to fail and to prevent the state from having to use tax revenues to save them.

At the end of March 2023, the Federal Council decided to review the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS and to evaluate the too-big-to-fail framework. Based on Article 52 of the Banking Act and mandates from Parliament, the Federal Council has carried out an in-depth assessment of the regulation of systemically important banks. In April 2024, it adopted the associated report on banking stability.

The comprehensive review of the Credit Suisse crisis has revealed that the existing too-big-to-fail regime must be developed further and strengthened, in order to reduce the risks to the economy, the state and the taxpayer. For this reason, during its meeting on 6 June 2025 the Federal Council determined the parameters for the corresponding amendments to acts and ordinances, which will be submitted for consultation in stages from this autumn onwards. These include stricter capital requirements for systemically important banks with foreign subsidiaries, additional requirements on the recovery and resolution of systemically important banks, the introduction of a senior managers regime for banks and additional powers for the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). The Federal Council also opened a consultation process for those measures that are to be implemented directly at ordinance level.

During its meeting on 22 April 2026, the Federal Council adopted the dispatch on the revision of the Banking Act. In the future, systemically important banks in Switzerland will have to fully back their participations in foreign subsidiaries with Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital. This targeted measure is key to strengthening financial stability. Parliament will be able to debate the legislative proposal from summer 2026. At the same time, the Federal Council amended the Capital Adequacy Ordinance. The amendments concern the capital backing for certain balance sheet items such as software, and will come into force on 1 January 2027.

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