On 1 January 2026, the Berne Financial Services Agreement (BFSA) between the UK and Switzerland entered into force, creating a structured, outcomes-based route for cross-border activity in selected parts of financial services.
For firms operating across the UK–Swiss corridor, the strategic significance is less about a single “new permission” and more about a broader shift in how market access can be achieved: mutual recognition backed by supervisory cooperation, rather than relying on unilateral equivalence decisions that can be revised with limited notice.
The immediate opportunity is concentrated in two areas – wholesale insurance and cross-border investment services for certain high-net-worth clients – but the operating implications reach much further. Legal teams will need to translate a treaty-level framework into practical guardrails: eligibility, client classification, disclosure, marketing controls, reporting, and governance across the first, second, and third lines of defence.
Why this matters now: market access is becoming “operating-model work”
In most cross-border regulatory changes, the early movers are not the firms that merely understand the rule change first. They are the firms that industrialize compliance into repeatable process – the ones that can onboard eligible clients faster, issue the right disclosures consistently, and avoid conduct missteps that trigger supervisory attention.
The BFSA is a classic example. It is designed to reduce friction and expand access, but it does so through defined client categories, activity conditions, disclosure requirements, and ongoing obligations. In other words: the agreement rewards firms that treat market access as an end-to-end operating model, not a legal memo.
What the BFSA enables – and who benefits most
Wholesale insurance into Switzerland: a direct access route with meaningful balance-sheet implications
For UK non-life insurers, the BFSA enables direct market access to large Swiss clients for a range of wholesale risks (with particular relevance to London Market lines), while maintaining a model where UK insurers continue to be regulated and supervised in the UK (a “deference” approach).
A major practical unlock is the removal of the Swiss “tied assets” requirement for UK insurers operating under this framework – reducing the need to localize assets in Switzerland and improving capital efficiency.
There are also boundary conditions. For example, (re)insurers with a material life component may be out of scope for this route (the framework describes thresholds that firms must assess carefully).
Insurance intermediaries: fewer localization frictions
Insurance intermediaries also benefit. One notable point is that the BFSA keeps UK intermediaries outside certain Swiss localization requirements that would otherwise have pushed overseas brokers toward a physical Swiss presence, and it does so without introducing notification requirements for intermediaries in the same way as for certain other firms.
Private banking and wealth management: a clearer route to serve defined HNW clients cross-border
For investment services, the BFSA provides a mechanism for firms to serve newly defined high net worth clients cross-border, using explicit access procedures and disclosure requirements. A key threshold highlighted in the framework is net assets above GBP/CHF 2 million, subject to specified conditions.
The agreement also reduces certain administrative barriers – such as removing the need for UK advisers to register with Swiss bodies – while preserving some Swiss requirements (e.g., professional indemnity insurance).
What changed operationally: registration, eligibility confirmation, and ongoing obligations
The BFSA introduces a practical workflow for getting to “go live” at the firm level: notification/registration, eligibility confirmation by regulators, and publication in the relevant register before business begins.
Key mechanics to be aware of include:
- How firms register/notify: UK firms use the FCA’s systems (including the Connect platform), while Swiss firms use FINMA’s relevant platform.
- Regulatory confirmation timelines: the framework describes confirmation windows (e.g., ~30 days for PRA/FCA confirmation and ~60 days for FINMA confirmation) before register publication and commencement.
- Ongoing reporting: UK insurers and Swiss investment firms face annual data/declaration expectations, with specific details shaped by operational guidance.
Even where the “legal permission” is clear, the real work is turning these mechanics into a controlled, auditable operating process that doesn’t break under volume – or under sales pressure.
The legal risk is not “getting it wrong once” – it’s getting it wrong at scale
BFSA-related risk is likely to concentrate in predictable places:
- Eligibility and scope interpretation (which entities, which lines of business, which services, and what exclusions apply).
- Client classification and suitability (especially around the new HNW category and the conditions attached).
- Pre-contractual disclosure design and evidence (consistent delivery, correct timing, and recordkeeping).
- Marketing and distribution controls (what can be marketed where, by whom, and under what conduct expectations).
- Ongoing reporting, governance, and “line of defence” clarity (who owns what, how issues escalate, and how controls are tested).
In practice, issues tend to arise when commercial teams see “new market access” and push ahead, while legal/compliance teams treat it as a checklist exercise rather than a repeatable control environment.
A practical playbook for the first 60–90 days
Now that the agreement is in force, most firms will benefit from a short cycle of focused, execution-oriented work rather than an extended strategy exercise. A pragmatic sequence looks like this:
1) Map the “BFSA perimeter” across entities, products, and client segments
Start by defining exactly what sits inside scope: which legal entities will use the BFSA route, which products/lines are in play, and which client categories qualify. For insurers, this includes confirming which non-life lines are intended for Swiss wholesale clients and whether any life-related thresholds change applicability.
2) Build a defensible client classification and CRM workflow
For wealth managers and private banks, the new HNW category is a growth lever – but only if client classification is consistent, evidenced, and integrated into systems. That typically means revisiting KYC/CRM data models, workflow controls, and exception handling so the classification is robust under audit and supervision.
3) Design disclosures that are usable by the front line
Pre-contractual disclosures need to be compliant, but they also need to be operationally workable: the right language, delivered at the right time, with the right evidence trail. Many firms will want to standardize disclosure templates, define trigger points (e.g., onboarding vs. transaction), and embed them into digital client journeys where possible.
4) Rewire marketing and distribution controls
BFSA access can fail in practice if marketing and sales teams don’t understand what they can and cannot do cross-border. A short, targeted training and control refresh – who can solicit, what materials can be used, and how interactions are recorded – usually reduces risk quickly.
5) Stand up a lean governance model with clear accountability
Because the BFSA is rooted in regulatory cooperation, governance matters. Firms should define ownership across legal, compliance, product, and operations; align second-line monitoring with third-line assurance; and set routines for tracking regulatory updates and operational guidance.
Medium-term advantage: move from “access” to “expansion”
Once the operating model is stable, firms can shift to value creation. The BFSA can enable new distribution partnerships, product tailoring for cross-border needs, and more efficient legal entity/branch structure decisions – particularly where legacy structures were built to manage earlier market access constraints.
The firms that capture disproportionate value will likely be those that treat this agreement as a platform: a way to build repeatable cross-border delivery capabilities that can be extended to adjacent jurisdictions, products, and client segments as regulatory models evolve.
