Schellenberg Wittmer Ltd assists Swiss and foreign banks and other financial institutions, such as investment firms, insurance companies, fund management companies and asset managers, with a broad range of matters, including establishment and licensing, regulation of financial services, enforcement proceedings and internal investigations. The team is particularly strong on the transactional side – assisting clients with syndicated loan facilities and acquisition finance, structured finance transactions, derivatives, and asset management. The team is led by Grégoire Wuest, who has a special focus on multi-jurisdictional transactions involving non-standard and highly valuable assets securing borrowings as well as cross-border acquisitions, and Tarek Houdrouge, whose practice covers advising banks, financial institutions and financial intermediaries on regulatory matters, cross-border activities, lending transactions, distribution of financial products, and fintech. Caroline Clemetson handles requests with FINMA for securities firms, fintech banking licences, amendment of banks, and implementing new regulations such as ESG within banking institutions whilst Grégoire Tribolet advises numerous clients, both established banks and fintech start-ups, on their projects related to blockchain technology. Other key team members include Christoph Vonlanthen, Joane Etienne, Luc Thévenoz, and Edmond Kohler.
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘They can anticipate the key challenges we could face in the banking industry so that we can manage them proactively. They demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of the legal aspect of our work, but also a good understanding of the cultural specificities of our firm.'
'They are very innovative as they are also able to support us in legal aspects of new technologies such as blockchain or tokenization.’
‘ Tarek Houdrouge demonstrates both a very strong in-depth legal knowledge in each specific banking topic I addressed with him, and very good strategy skills. ’
‘The Schellenberg Wittmer team has very practicable solutions for business. They understand the market and the related risk areas. It is always a pleasure to discuss legal topics with the team. They provide very useful insights.’
‘Tarek Houdrouge is knowledgeable, understands the issues and provides very clear solutions. It is always a pleasure to work with him.’
‘ The team provides fast answers and efficient handling of requests.’
Key clients
- UBS
- BNP Paribas
- Raiffeisen Switzerland
- Credit Suisse
- Crypto Fund AG
- Nord Anglia Education
- Emeram
- eny Finance AG
- Bank Julius Baer
- Futures Industry Association (FIA)
- Swiss Bankers Association (SBA)
- China Construction Bank
- Reuss Private Group AG
- Helvetische Bank AG
- Bank Itau (Suisse) SA
- Banco Santander
- Banque Thaler
- Bank Vontobel
- Deutsche Bank SA
- Diamond Capital Management (Switzerland) Ltd
- EFG Bank
- Mirabaud & Cie SA
- UBP
- Reichmuth Investment Management AG
- CACEIS
- Landolt Investment SICAV
- Procimmo SA
- Oxford Finance LLC
- e-GTSA S. A
- Standard Chartered
- Leonteq
- Barclays Bank PLC
- International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA)
- Schroder & Co Bank
- Pierer Mobility AG
- Alpian SA
- Lennox International
- Computershare / Equatex
- Aldo Group
- LokRoll3 AG
- Arsenal Capital Partners
- CAT Financial Products Ltd.
- 1875 Finance
Work highlights
- Advised Beaumier in connection with a €200m loan from Cheyne Capital.
- Assisted the founding partners of 1875 Finance on its strategic partnership with Reyl & Cie SA, whereby Reyl has acquired a 40% interest in 1875 Finance.
- Advised Swiss Start-up Swiss4.0 SA on obtaining its fintech license with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
Lawyers
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Grégoire Wuest, Tarek Houdrouge