to provide any services related to the holding and management of financial assets; activities requiring a license to operate as a bank or securities dealer are formally excluded. The company may establish branches and subsidiaries in Switzerland and/or abroad and acquire interests in other companies in Switzerland and abroad. The company may carry out all commercial, financial or other transactions, either on its own account or on behalf of third parties, which have a direct or indirect connection with its corporate purpose. The company may also grant loans or other financing, whether interest-bearing or interest-free, to its direct or indirect parent companies and their direct or indirect subsidiaries, and provide collateral of any kind for the obligations of these group companies, including guarantees, pledges and fiduciary transfers of the company's assets. Furthermore, it may engage in liquidity/cash pooling, including periodic balance adjustments (balancing), with group companies or participate in them, also without consideration, on preferential terms, without interest, excluding the company's profit-making purposes and taking significant risks.