The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) revoked MBaer Merchant Bank's license on February 6, 2026, but a liquidation under ordinary company law has barely begun to move, with only around CHF 30 million disbursed of roughly CHF 5 billion in client assets as of recent weeks.
The bank challenged the decision at the Federal Administrative Court in St. Gallen, which granted suspensive effect in an interim ruling, allowing MBaer to continue operating until the appeal is resolved. The court proceedings were interrupted on February 27 after the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, according to finews.
No comparable precedent exists in modern Swiss banking history. The last institution to lose its license and enter ordinary liquidation was Bank Thorbecke, taken over by St. Galler Kantonalbank in 2003. FlowBank, which had its license withdrawn in spring 2024 while an appeal was pending, slipped into insolvency by June 2024 due to insufficient equity.
Finma confirmed the process is a liquidation under the Swiss Code of Obligations, not a bankruptcy proceeding. Daniel Staehelin of Kellerhals Carrard serves as lead liquidator alongside Lukas Bopp, both from the Basel-based law firm.
Access to the Swiss Interbank Clearing payment system was lost not immediately upon license withdrawal but on March 20, 2026, when MBaer was formally removed from SIX's Swiss bank register—more than three weeks later. Both SIX and the Swiss National Bank declined to comment on the delay.
Liquidators announced on May 22 that they had secured correspondent banking arrangements for payouts in Swiss francs, pounds, euros, and UAE dirhams across jurisdictions including the EU, EEA, Canada, Japan, the UK, Australia, and Singapore. The specific correspondent banks remain undisclosed.
Payout speed appears constrained by dual Know-your-Customer checks: one conducted by MBaer's remaining compliance team and a second by the liquidators' compliance staff. Client dossiers had been comprehensively re-examined in prior years under Finma supervision, during which approximately 30 percent of the customer base departed.
About a dozen lawyers from Kellerhals Carrard are reportedly working the mandate. Estimated total fees reach around CHF 11 million over a projected ten-year procedure, against equity of roughly CHF 70 million at the time of license withdrawal. Finma declined to confirm or deny those figures.
Shareholders have expressed frustration over the prolonged process. Finma rejected suggestions that the liquidator might intentionally complicate proceedings, stating that mandate performance is assessed for efficiency, proportionality, and cost-effectiveness. The authority also declined to identify who ordered the redundant dual KYC review.
Legal risks mount as customers hold an unconditional claim to immediate payout of their balances. How extended compliance procedures shield the bank from related claims remains unresolved.
