FINMA publishes new Circular on “Consolidated supervision of financial groups under the BA and FinIA”
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA is today
publishing the new Circular 2025/4 “Consolidated supervision of
financial groups under the BA and FinIA”. This sets out its
supervisory practice on the scope and content of consolidated
supervision. FINMA conducted a public consultation on the new
circular, which met with broad acceptance.
Through the new
circular, FINMA is providing greater clarity on questions of
interpretation regarding the scope and content of consolidated
supervision of financial groups under the Banking Act and the
Financial Institutions Act. The primary purpose of consolidated
supervision is to ensure that all risks entered into by a financial
group are covered by supervision. FINMA has many years of established
supervisory practice in this area. Up to now, this supervisory
practice has been communicated to the institutions concerned in the
form of case-by-case decisions. The circular solidifies this practice.
FINMA conducted a public consultation on the new circular. The
proposals met with broad acceptance.
The circular sets out the
requirements for the inclusion of group companies in consolidated
supervision (regulatory scope of consolidation). The decisive factors
are the company’s activity in the financial sector and the existence
of an economic unit, a legal duty to provide support or a de facto
obligation to provide support (Art. 3c para. 1 BA). Activity in the
financial sector generally includes the provision and intermediation
of financial services and is not limited to activities that are
subject to a licence or registration requirement under Swiss financial
market legislation. Inclusion in the regulatory scope of consolidation
is independent of the legal form of the company; for example, special
purpose vehicles are also included if the requirements are met.
The specific implications of consolidated supervision are
based on the provisions of the Banking Ordinance (Art. 24 BO). The
requirements listed in the circular can be grouped according to
quantitative and qualitative aspects, the latter including, for
example, elements of corporate governance at group level.
The
circular will enter into force on 1 July 2025.