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On Friday 14 August 2026 the canton of Fribourg officially handed over the keys to Agroscope’s new laboratory building in Posieux to the Swiss Confederation. The ceremony was attended by President of the Swiss Confederation Guy Parmelin and delegations from the Fribourg State Council and the Agroscope executive board as well as the Federal Offices for Agriculture (FOAG) and Buildings and Logistics (FOBL). Thus the centrepiece of Agroscope’s new site strategy is now ready for use.

During its meeting on 12 August 2026, the Federal Council launched the consultation on amendments to the Banking Act and the Liquidity Ordinance. The proposed measures complete the overall package aimed at strengthening the stability of the financial centre. The requirements on bank governance and on crisis preparations for systemically important banks are to be increased. In addition, the tools and powers of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) are to be extended, and banks' access to liquidity from the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is to be expanded. The consultations will run until 19 November 2026.

The Federal Council will recommend that Parliament reject the popular initiative “For a sustainable and future-oriented Swiss financial centre (financial centre initiative)” without a direct or indirect counter-proposal. This was decided during its meeting on 12 August 2026. The Federal Council is already committed to ensuring that the Swiss financial centre operates in a sustainable manner. However, it views the additional bans called for by the initiative as questionable from an international perspective.