The new head of FINMA, Stefan Walter, expects financial institutions to proactively inform him of developments that could affect economic stability. According to him, preventive measures are more effective than repressive measures.
“I demand full and unfiltered access to all information,” said the director of the Federal Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) in an interview published Tuesday by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. He wants to see society as it is, in order to avoid taxpayers having to intervene in a crisis.
If a bank does not cooperate, checks will be carried out on site, warns the new FINMA director. During such checks, however, surveillance should not be limited by law, he adds.
More checks also mean more staff, continues Stefan Walter, emphasizing that it is still too early to give precise figures. But, according to him, a change in the system will have a “very substantial effect on the workforce”.
>> Carlo Lombardini’s interview in Forum:
Legal obstacles
If the controls are not sufficient, FINMA wants to be able to adopt stricter supervisory methods, asks the manager. “In extreme cases, it should have the possibility of holding certain people responsible and, if necessary, removing them,” he says. But the legal obstacles to such a measure are significant, notes Stefan Walter.
FINMA is also prohibited from providing information on the opening of proceedings against companies, notes its director. “Non-communication should be the exception”, because an announcement has a disciplinary effect and it shows the effectiveness of surveillance, according to him.
Stefan Walter considers preventive measures more effective than, for example, clauses for reimbursement of bonuses already paid. “The earlier we identify a problem, the more effective we are.”
After the Credit Suisse debacle, the Federal Council decided to expand FINMA’s powers. In April he proposed several measures, including facilitating intervention for the supervisory authority and expanding its means of intervention.
ats/ther
