Proposed Exemption for Certain Prohibited Transaction Restrictions Involving UBS AG (UBS) and Credit Suisse Group AG (CSAG), Located in Zurich, Switzerland

The Employee Benefits Security Administration, EBSA, of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published in the Federal Register its [proposal](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/05/12/2023-10289/proposed-exemption-for-certain-prohibited-transaction-restrictions-involving-ubs-ag-ubs-and-credit) to grant a new Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) to allow qualified professional asset managers (QPAMs) of UBS AG and Credit Suisse Group AG related entities to continue to rely upon an exemption stipulated in current PTE 84-14. According to EBSA, PTE 84-14 allows „various parties that are related to employee benefit plans to engage in transactions involving plan assets if, among other conditions, the assets are managed by “qualified professional asset managers”, which are independent of the parties in interest and which meet specified financial standards“. Such transactions may involve, but are not limited to, sales, exchanges, leases, loans/extensions of credit, and the provision of services between a party of interest and a pension plan. The application of current individual exemptions relating to UBS and CSAG related entities pertaining to PTE 84-14 will expire following the merger of the two corporations due to a provision in PET 84-14 that does NOT permit QPAMs to rely upon such exemption, if previous convictions (within 10 years prior to a transactions) have been made.
Therefore, and despite the fact that both corporations have several convictions on their account (e.g. Credit Suisse AG was convicted of assisting U.S. citizens in federal income tax evasion in 2014), EBSA is now proposing to issue a new PTE for the period of one year provided that certain conditions are met.