The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA has published its strategic goals for the period from 2021 to 2024. These were approved today by the Federal Council. The ten goals show how FINMA intends to fulfil its legal mandate and where its focus will lie. The goals concern various areas of client and system protection, but also operational topics.
The year 2021 marks the start of a new strategy period for FINMA. According to the legal mandate, the FINMA Board of Directors defined the
strategic goals for 2021-2024 and submitted them to the Federal Council for approval. The Federal Council granted its approval on 18 November 2020. Furthermore, in “
Key areas” FINMA sets out in concrete terms how it plans to implement the strategic goals over the next four years.
Stability and accompanying structural change
In its analysis of the previous strategy period from 2017 to 2020, FINMA noted that important progress was made with regard to the stability of the financial institutions, which contributed to the high resilience shown by the Swiss financial centre in the corona crisis. The strategic goals for 2021 to 2024 are therefore guided by continuity in this area. FINMA will continue to focus on the supervised institutions’ stability, in particular strong capitalisation and liquidity (goal 1), and on further mitigating the “too big to fail” problem (goal 4). FINMA will also seek to ensure that the financial system remains as robust and client-oriented as possible, despite structural challenges (goal 5). In doing so, FINMA will take account of the fact that the corona crisis is exacerbating existing risks and uncertainties.
Conduct, risk management and corporate governance
FINMA will also continue to focus on the supervised institutions’ conduct: FINMA will orient its supervisory work so as to have a lasting positive impact on the financial institutions’ conduct, particularly with regard to combating money laundering and suitability, cross-border and market conduct issues (goal 2). The areas of risk management and corporate governance are now listed as a separate goal (goal 3). Forward-looking risk management and effective checks and balances in the organisation guarantee lasting stability, adherence to conduct rules and long-term success.
Innovation and sustainability
Innovation is and will remain a core element for FINMA in all areas (goal 6). It will apply existing rules to innovative business models and products by taking a pragmatic and forward-looking approach, and will ensure that these have a fair chance on the market. The topic of sustainability is enshrined in a new goal (goal 7). FINMA will give particular consideration to climate-related financial risks in its supervisory work and urge the financial institutions to tackle these risks transparently. By doing so, it will contribute to the sustainable development of the Swiss financial centre.
Risk-oriented regulation and international recognition
Furthermore, FINMA will make the case for risk-reducing, proportional and less complex regulation in the Swiss financial centre, which is also equivalent to international standards (goal 8). FINMA actively represents Swiss interests in international fora and is a recognised and reliable partner for foreign supervisory authorities.
Efficiency and further development of the authority
FINMA will use its resources in an efficient and risk-based way in order to fulfil its extended legal mandate. New technologies will be used to help realise gains in efficiency and effectiveness (goal 9). Effective, efficient and internationally recognised financial market supervision requires highly qualified managers and employees. These are the focus of the new strategic goal 10. FINMA’s personnel policy promotes continual training, the ability to successfully combine work with family life, equal opportunities and diversity among its staff.
Contact
Tobias Lux, Media Spokesperson
Tel. +41 31 327 91 71
tobias.lux@finma.ch
