What the Confederation can decide

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The Confederation holds the principal levers: financial regulation and supervision, relations with the European Union and international agreements, federal taxation and double taxation treaties, sanctions, migration policy and national infrastructure. The federal decisions of the years 2026 to 2028 on the capital requirements of the large bank, on the European package, on licences for crypto-assets and digital assets, on sustainable finance and on mutual recognition agreements will set the framework for the decade. The Geneva financial centre has an interest in these decisions being taken with an understanding of its particular situation, which differs from that of Zurich, and this presupposes that its voice is heard in Berne.

That voice is carried by the umbrella organisations, by the parliamentarians from Geneva and French-speaking Switzerland, by the French-speaking cantons acting together and by the practitioners who sit on federal commissions and working groups. It is carried in German, as Part J recalled, and by data, as the dashboard proposed above would make possible. It is carried, finally, by alliances: the Geneva financial centre shares most of its federal interests with Zurich, Lugano and Basel. Swiss finance speaking with one voice on questions of proportionality, European relations and competitiveness is heard more clearly than divided financial centres would be.

Key points. The scenarios for 2035 depend on decisions that the financial centre does not take, federal, European and international, but also on cantonal levers, taxation, housing, education, justice, and on the centre’s ability to make itself heard in Berne, in German and with data. Against disruptive shocks, its protections are Swiss stability, diversification and compliance.

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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What the Confederation can decide

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