Checklist: governing technology and artificial intelligence in a Geneva institution

Establish an inventory of artificial intelligence applications, classify them by risk and designate a responsible person for each, in accordance with FINMA Guidance 08/2024.
Verify data quality, test and validate models before they go live, document their limitations and provide for an independent review.
Maintain human responsibility for every decision affecting a client or a regulatory obligation, and document the human intervention.
Frame outsourcing to cloud services contractually and technically, notably through encryption and data location, and inform clients.
Test operational resilience through outage, attack and vendor-failure scenarios, and report serious cyberattacks within the prescribed deadlines.
Prepare for the use of the state electronic identity and of open finance in client onboarding and client services.
Train staff in the use and supervision of the tools, and focus recruitment on the skills that the tools do not replace.
Monitor the Swiss and European frameworks on artificial intelligence, data protection and operational resilience, together with their effects on clients in the Union.

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of September 2025.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law

I am a Swiss attorney-at-law and also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England & Wales, with almost 25 years of experience.

Together with my multilingual team, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian and French native speakers, I advise companies and their owners from around the world on the full range of banking, corporate, commercial and tax law matters in Switzerland, including international tax planning, fiduciary services, and legal family office services including immigration & relocation or real estate investments. My practice has a particular focus on clients from growth and frontier markets in Greater China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and I equally advise clients from Europe and North America. Through an affiliated Swiss trust company, we also take care of the incorporation and ongoing administration of their companies and other structures, including accounting, tax returns and corporate secretarial services, and I serve as a professional director where required. With the support of a network of first-class cooperation partners, I also implement solutions worldwide.

My approach is to act as a trusted advisor who works directly with decision-makers, on an equal footing: I start from what you want to achieve and shape every structure, contract and tax decision around your commercial goals and how it improves your after-tax return. As “lawyers who make it happen”, my team and I stay involved until your company is set up, your structure is in place and your transaction has closed, and we remain available for any follow-on work that may be required. You benefit from bespoke solutions and personal attention, and sound, friendly and practical advice. We are not the lowest-cost provider in the market, nor do we intend to be; our aim is to deliver well-founded, proper solutions and excellent value for money.

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