The Swiss Financial Markets Supervision Authority (FINMA) is a government agency, a Swiss regulator, which is one of the most reliable in the world, since the requirements of the regulator are very strict. Its activities are focused on financial regulation, namely: protection against the creation of corruption schemes for money laundering, supervision of banks, insurance companies, stock exchanges and securities dealers, control over the amount of capital, in various credit institutions, and, if necessary, conducts financial restructuring and bankruptcy procedures.
FINMA is a government agency that reports directly to the Swiss parliament. It is based in Bern and is independent of the central federal administration and the Federal Department of Finance. The regulator has at its disposal various levers of influence on brokers, and therefore any company licensed by FINMA operates under transparent schemes that imply full protection of the interests of investors.
History of creation
FINMA was founded on June 22, 2007 with the adoption of the Federal Law on the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMASA) as a result of the merger of the following organizations:
- Swiss Federal Banking Commission (SFBC);
- Federal Office of Private Insurance (FOPI);
- Anti-Money Laundering Control Authority (AMLCA).
Responsibilities and functions:
- Development of legislation in the financial sector;
- Issuance of a license to companies and organizations under its supervision, certification of financial market participants;
- Monitoring compliance with standards, laws, regulations, directives;
- Issuance of warnings, revocation of licenses and liquidation of companies;
- Anti-corruption schemes and money laundering;
- Control over Swiss financial markets for compliance with AML / CFT requirements.
- Protection of investors and creditors;
FINMA requirements for licensees:
- Opening a real office in Switzerland, which will automatically oblige the company to follow the laws of the country;
- Provision of a document that will identify potential risks when investing, conducting transactions, obtaining financial services (to inform clients);
- Compliance with the requirements for the level of minimum capital, compliance with liquidity standards. The ratios are individual depending on the volume of transactions and the balance on bank accounts;
- Disclosure of information about the founders, placement of information in open sources of information.
Conclusions
FINMA’s main mission is to maintain the stability of the Swiss banking sector and increase investor confidence in the Swiss financial markets. And having a FINMA license can serve as a high guarantee that you have a reliable brokerage company that you can entrust your money to. Thanks to its high reputation, FINMA is on a par with such reliable regulators as FCA and NFA.