Newsletter 83 from April 01, 2009 FINMA Commences Work in Challenging Circumsdances
Newsletter 83 - FINMA Commences Work in Challenging Circumsdances - The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, FINMA, began operations on 1January 2009. FINMA was established and commenced operations in challenging circumstances, in which the merged authorities were put under extreme pressure by the crisis in the financial market and its effects on the institutions they supervise. The task the organisation now faces is to draw lessons from the financial crisis in conjunction with national and international institutions, to expand its supervisory mandate in a goal-oriented manner and to shape Switzerland’s future approach to supervision.
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, FINMA, came into existence around 100 days ago on the full entry into force of FINMASA (Federal Act on the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority) on 1 January 2009. FINMA was established and began operations in a period in which the merged authorities were put under extreme pressure by the crisis in the financial market and its effects on the institutions they supervise. The authorities involved spent a total of more than 4,000 working days on the project. Their work bore fruit, as the new authority took over its mandate at the start of the year with no major problems.
It is now necessary for FINMA to prove itself as an integrated authority. It also needs to invest much of its time in dealing with – and learning from – the consequences of the financial market crisis, which will help formulate the future development of its supervisory activities and regulation. In order to meet these challenges, FINMA is working in cross-sector teams with a view to developing proposals to strengthen its supervisory tools. The goal is to complement its established tools based on new findings. The creation of FINMA will enable insights and specific knowledge to be transferred from supervisory activities in the insurance industry to the banking industry, and vice versa. The most effective of all these elements will be combined to create principles of best practice. FINMA aims to take part in and help design a variety of international initiatives, but it can only play an active role in this process by being directly represented in the relevant international bodies and committees. This is particularly important for Switzerland since its financial sector is so significant. FINMA currently has representation in around 50 international working groups, often as a leading member.
The 2008 annual reports of the three merged authorities were presented at FINMA’s first media conference.
Media Information
The speeches from the media conference and the 2008 annual reports of the three merged authorities are available at: www.finma.ch/d/medien/Seiten/medienanlaesse.aspx
Speeches
- Dr Eugen Haltiner, Chairman of the Board of Directors
“Saying Goodbye To The Past” - Dr Patrick Raaflaub, Director
“FINMA: The First 100 Days – Challenges and Outlook” - Dr Monica Mächler, Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors
“Valuable Synergies between National and International Regulatory and Supervisory Activities in the Insurance Industry” - Daniel Zuberbühler, Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors
“The Swiss Regime for Large Banks: Setting the Trend for International Capital Regulation”
Contact
Dr Alain Bichsel, Head of Communications, tel. +41 (0)31 327 91 70, alain.bichsel@finma.ch
Please note that only the German version is legally binding.