find out more about how FINMA supervises the financial market; learn more about the tools FINMA uses to enforce supervisory law; find out how FINMA applies financial market legislation; learn more about how FINMA works with regulatory audit firms

FINMA promotes the protection of creditors, investors and insured persons and ensures the general functioning of the financial markets. FINMA, whose head office is in Bern, is the supervisory authority responsible for supervising the Swiss financial market.

The FINMA Public section of our website contains a wealth of easily accessible information on our activities as a supervisory authority and how we protect the clients of financial service providers. Investors, creditors and policyholders can find answers to key questions relating to the financial market and tips for protecting themselves.

FINMA keeps lists of all authorised institutions and investment funds as well as all registered insurance intermediaries. These are regularly updated. A supervised institution may have been authorised but not yet be included in the list.

FINMA’s work centres around forward-looking supervision of the financial sector, also known as prudential supervision. Private audit firms also perform supervisory tasks on FINMA’s behalf. The intensity of the supervision depends on the risk posed …

If you want to get in touch with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, here you will find FINMA’s postal addresses with location maps, our Welcome Desks’ office hours and telephone hotline.

For their part, SROs are subject to supervision by FINMA, which recognises and monitors them. FINMA recognises an organisation as an SRO if it: has a set of regulations which set out the AMLA due diligence requirements in detail for its members; monitors compliance with these regulations by affiliated financial intermediaries;

Banks and securities firms, as well as branches and representative offices of foreign banks and securities firms, must be licensed by FINMA. The legislation on banks and securities firms sets out requirements with varying levels of rigour for the different types of licences.

Anyone who manages or is responsible for the safekeeping of assets held in collective investment schemes, or who represents foreign collective investment schemes in Switzerland, or manages the assets of occupational pension schemes on a commercial basis must be …

FINMA Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance (AMLA-FINMA, in German, French and Italian) Regulation of money laundering in Switzerland is based on two pillars. Firstly, money laundering is a criminal offence punishable by the criminal authorities (Art. 305 bis …