International affairs

FINMA continued to maintain relationships with numerous foreign supervisory authorities in the year under review and worked closely with them, in particular on the supervision of internationally active financial institutions.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) conducts annual consultations on macroeconomic developments and economic policies in member states, known as Article IV consultations. Every five years, the IMF also carries out an in-depth review of the stability of the financial sector and compliance with international standards in financial market regulation. This Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) was carried out in Switzerland between May 2024 and September 2025. On the Swiss side, the lead was taken by the FDF. Due to its central role in the Swiss financial markets, FINMA was the main source of information for the IMF in most of the areas reviewed within the FSAP. This was reflected in several hundred pages of FINMA replies to IMF questionnaires and over 120 interviews and meetings with the IMF delegation.

The results of the review were positive overall. The IMF confirmed the resilience of the Swiss financial system and praised the progress made since the last review. At the same time, it recommends strengthening FINMA’s legal powers to further increase supervisory effectiveness. Areas highlighted by the IMF include:

• Introduction of an accountability regime (senior managers’ regime)
• The power to levy fines
• Greater transparency on completed enforcement proceedings
• Strengthening direct supervision, including by conducting its own on-site inspections
• Strengthening the legal basis for Pillar 2 capital add-ons for banks, including ensuring their timely enforceability
• Early intervention powers
• Abolition of the suspensive effect for FINMA rulings

The recommendations are largely in line with the proposals in the Federal Council’s TBTF report, the PInC report on the CS crisis and the Federal Council’s parameters for amending the laws and ordinances in order to strengthen the TBTF regime. Alongside the TBTF-related points, the FSAP report contains further recommendations on the areas reviewed by the IMF, most of which will be taken up by FINMA and pursued as part of its ongoing work.

In relation to supervision, the IMF affirmed FINMA’s high level of technical expertise and experience. At the same time, it recommended comprehensively expanding supervisory resources and systematically strengthening data-driven supervision.

FINMA welcomes the report and sees it as confirming its strategic focus. It will continue the work on recommended actions in close cooperation with the relevant Swiss authorities and so contribute to strengthening the stability and competitiveness of the Swiss financial centre on a sustained basis.

As it has in previous years, FINMA engaged in regular dialogue with foreign supervisory authorities in 2025. The aim was to build a strong network by maintaining, deepening and expanding international supervisory relationships. Contacts at board and executive management level, along with discussions at a technical level, enabled a mutually beneficial dialogue. Personal contacts are critical for effective and smooth collaboration, particularly when it comes to cross-border supervisory issues and cooperation in crises.

There was a particular emphasis in the year under review on updating and extending existing cooperation agreements. Contacts with individual partner authorities were deepened, and cooperation further intensified. These measures make an important contribution to the stability and efficiency of international supervision.

In addition, FINMA again assisted the State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF) with its technical expertise. In 2025, it participated in a number of financial dialogues between the SIF and third countries and actively contributed its technical knowledge to the discussions on current developments.

In 2025, FINMA worked on system-wide liquidity risks, non-bank financial intermediation (NBFI), cryptoassets and operational resilience at the Financial Stability Board (FSB).

The FSB is responsible for monitoring financial stability globally. It coordinates the development of financial market regulation as the link between the G20 and the international standard-setting bodies. FINMA is a member of the Standing Committee on Supervisory and Regulatory Cooperation and the Resolution Steering Group. The SNB and SIF represent Switzerland in the FSB Plenary.

FINMA represents Switzerland in the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) together with the SNB. FINMA was actively involved in a range of BCBS committees to strengthen the security and reliability of the international banking system.

The focus of the work was on improving supervisory instruments for liquidity risks, interest rate risk, business model analyses and AI applications. Other work related to further development of stress-testing approaches and analysing the growing synthetic transfer of credit risk from banks to the non-bank sector (NBFI).

FINMA supports the work of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) as a longstanding member of the IAIS Executive Committee and numerous subgroups. In the year under review, the focus was on implementation of the Insurance Capital Standard (ICS) and the upcoming assessment of progress. FINMA regards the Swiss Solvency Test (SST) as more risk-sensitive than the ICS and will therefore continue to use the SST to meet the ICS criteria.

Other work carried out by the IAIS included continuing to develop recommendations for insurers’ resolution plans and an update of the Holistic Framework for the assessment and mitigation of systemic risk, which the FSB again endorsed in 2025. The IAIS also worked on emerging themes such as supervision of AI in the insurance sector and structural changes in life insurance.

FINMA continued to play its part on the board and in a range of committees of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). IOSCO’s aim is to strengthen investor protection, ensure efficient and transparent markets and mitigate systemic risks. The use of innovative digital tools in market supervision (supervisory technology or SupTech) was of particular importance for FINMA in 2025. As a result of its expertise, it became chair of the new Forum for Supervisory Technology and advanced the international dialogue on innovative supervisory approaches. In addition, FINMA was involved in two reports on crypto and digital assets, and sustainability in asset management. It thus made an important contribution to strengthening global standards and enhancing international cooperation.

After the signing of the Berne Financial Services Agreement (BFSA) in December 2023, FINMA worked with intensity to implement the Agreement in preparation for its entry into force on 1 January 2026. FINMA, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) signed a cooperation agreement to facilitate this in September 2025. This sets out the details of the enhanced supervisory cooperation in the areas of insurance and investment services between Switzerland and the UK and in particular defines the processes for implementing the Agreement.

FINMA, the FCA and PRA completed the practical implementation of the Agreement at the end of 2025 by finalising the new cooperation and reporting mechanisms at an operational and technical level. Considerable effort was put into developing simple and efficient processes to minimise administrative costs and manual activities as far as possible. To assist the financial institutions, FINMA, the FCA and PRA published guidelines in November 2025 explaining the application of the BFSA and the new procedures in force.

The next country evaluation of Switzerland by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will start in 2026. The international evaluation team will analyse and assess the implementation and effectiveness of measures to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The results of the review are expected in the spring of 2028.

FINMA will itself be covered by the evaluation in various areas. Due to the international importance of the results, it has set up a project team for the country evaluation, which took up its work in September 2025.

After several years of discussions, FINMA and the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) were able to clarify the modalities for on-site inspections by the SEC of FINMA-supervised RIAs (Registered Investment Advisors) with regard to direct transmission of information and on-site inspections consistent with the Swiss legal framework and US legislation. The SEC lifted the moratorium on registrations and resumed processing new and pending applications by Swiss institutions.

The successful conclusion of these discussions will facilitate cross-border access by Swiss institutions authorised by FINMA in the US, while also promoting close supervisory cooperation with the SEC as an important US partner supervisory authority.