SIX Group makes changes in organisational structure of securities exchanges to enhance the regulatory basis. The Group segregated the firm’s regulatory functions and operative business activities. Moreover, The separation of powers between the rule-making, rule-enforcement and adjudicative bodies will be more clearly delineated.
Rule-making will be the task of the so-called Regulatory Board, whereas enforcement of the rules will be the responsibility of the SIX Exchange Regulation unit (a newly structured team that will address issuer regulations and supervise securities trading). The adjudication of legal matters will remain, as before, in the realm of competence of the Sanction Commission, the Appeal Board and the Arbitral Tribunal.
Effective as of the beginning of 2009, SIX Group reinforces the functions in the area of issuer and participant regulation. The basis for this reorganisation stems from the recognition that the regulatory and supervisory functions of the Exchange’s operative business should be organisationally segregated.
For the securities exchanges of SIX Group – SIX Swiss Exchange, SWX Europe, Scoach Switzerland and Eurex Zurich (the latter two are joint ventures with Deutsche Brse) – these functions have previously been performed by the Admission Board and the Admission Division of SIX Swiss Exchange. The independent Surveillance and Enforcement unit, which reports directly to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of SIX Group, was responsible for participant regulation.
Effective as of January 2009, the functions of issuer regulation and trading supervision have now been merged and will report directly to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of SIX Group. As a result, all operating units responsible for regulation have been segregated from operative line functions.
In future, the former Admission Board will be known as the Regulatory Board and bear responsibility for enacting rules governing issuers as well as market participants. The Chairman of the Admission Board, Dr. Andreas von Planta, will continue in the same function on the new Regulatory Board. The SIX Exchange Regulation division will be responsible for the enforcement of rules and regulations.
Rodolfo Straub, until now a member of the SIX Swiss Exchange Management Committee will be in charge of this new division and, in terms of operational issues, report directly to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of SIX Group (Prof. Dr. Peter Gomez) and to the Chairman of the Regulatory Board with regard to issues of a technical nature.
Stefan Lchinger, the former Head of disclosure of the Admission Division, will take charge of Listing & Enforcement, which is responsible for the enforcement of issuer-related regulations. The Surveillance & Enforcement unit, which is responsible for the monitoring of trading activities, will continue to be headed by Walter M. Ochsner.
Reorganisation didn’t touch the functions of such independent bodies as the Arbitral Tribunal of SIX Swiss Exchange, the independent Appeal Board and the Sanction Commission. They will continue to bear responsibility for ruling on alleged misdeeds of issuers and market participants.
The chosen solution maintains the advantages of the current “in touch with the market” and flexible approach to regulation, while reinforcing the independence of the organisational structures of SIX Group’s securities exchanges. It also takes into account international developments in the securities exchange industry and thereby bolsters the competitiveness and global reputation of the Swiss financial centre.
L.D.