Worldwide and at the European level, FINMA is actively involved in, or follows closely, the activities of further different international organisations and associations.

BIS - Bank of International Settlements
The BIS is an international organisation which fosters cooperation among central banks and other agencies in pursuit of monetary and financial stability. Its banking services are provided exclusively to central banks and international organisations.

FSB - Financial Stability Board
The FSB was convened to promote international financial stability through information exchange and international cooperation in financial supervision and surveillance. It represents numerous national and international supervisory and regulatory authorities, international financial institutions and expert committees.

IAA - International Actuarial Association
The IAA is the worldwide association regrouping local professional actuarial associations and their individual actuaries. The IAA exists to encourage the development of a global profession, acknowledged as technically competent and professionally reliable, which will ensure that the public interest is served.

IAASB - International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board
The IAASB functions as an independent standard-setting body under the auspices of IFAC (see below) and is subject to the oversight of the Public Interest Oversight-Board (PIOB) – see below. It is responsible for drawing up, maintaining and developing the International Standards on Auditing (ISA), professional standards for the performance of statutory audits.

IADI - International Association of Deposit Insurers
The IADI is a separate entity domiciled at the Bank for International Settlements. It was established to draw up international standards on deposit insurance. The IADI aims to contribute to the stability of financial systems by promoting international cooperation between deposit insurers.

IASB - International Accounting Standards Board
The IASB is the independent standard-setting body of the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation (IASC Foundation). Its mission is to develop a single set of international financial reporting standards (IFRSs) for general purpose financial statements.

IFAC - International Federation of Accountants
As the global organization for the accountancy profession, IFAC is committed to protecting the public interest by developing high quality international standards, promoting strong ethical values, encouraging quality practice, and supporting the development of all sectors of the profession around the world.

IFIAR - International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators
The International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators was established on 15 September 2006 and functions nowadays as a forum where knowledge of the audit market environment and practical experience of independent audit regulatory activity are shared, and where collaboration in regulatory activities is promoted.

IMF - International Monetary Fund
The IMF is an international organization of 187 member countries. It was established to promote international monetary cooperation, exchange stability, and orderly exchange arrangements; to foster economic growth and high levels of employment; and to provide temporary financial assistance to countries to help ease balance of payments adjustment. See the relevant web pages of the Swiss Federal Administration and of the Swiss National Bank for information on Switzerland’s cooperation with the IMF.

IOPS - International Organization of Pensions Supervisors
IOPS is an independent international body representing those involved in the supervision of private pension arrangements. The organisation currently has around 70 members and observers representing approximately 60 countries and territories covering all levels of economic development and bringing together all types of pension and supervisory systems. The major goal of the IOPS is to improve the quality and effectiveness of the supervision of private pension systems throughout the world, thereby enhancing their development and operational efficiency, and allowing for the provision of a secure source of retirement income in as many countries as possible.

PIOB - Public Interest Oversight Board
The PIOB was formally established in February 2005 to oversee IFAC's auditing and assurance, ethics, and education standard-setting activities as well as its Member Body Compliance Program. This last activity is designed to encourage member bodies to adopt international standards and to implement quality assurance and investigation and discipline programmes.

WTO - World Trade Organisation
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business. Responsibility for collaborating with the WTO mainly rests with the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

European Union

Under the auspices of European System of Financial Supervision (ESFS), three new European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) together with the national supervisory authorities and the newly established European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) are responsible for financial market supervision within the European internal market.

ESRB – European Systemic Risk Board
The ESRB is responsible for the macro-prudential oversight of the financial system within the Union. It draws up warnings and recommendations for risk mitigation measures and supervises their implementation.

ESAs – European Supervisory Authorities
The three ESAs, i.e. the European Banking Authority (EBA, London), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA, Frankfurt) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA, Paris) provide micro-prudential supervision of the EU financial markets along with the national supervisory authorities of the member states. While ongoing supervision of financial institutions still rests with the national supervisory authorities, the ESAs should develop and implement a common framework and supervisory convergence in the EU. The ESAs‘ task is, in particular, to advise the EU bodies in the legislative procedure, to develop regulatory standards and to coordinate national supervisory authorities. A cross-sector Joint Committee of ESAs (JCESAs) ensures that the measures drawn up by the individual authorities are coordinated and aligned.

ECB – European Central Bank
The ECB is the central bank for Europe’s single currency, the euro. The ECB’s main task is to maintain the euro's purchasing power and thus price stability in the euro area. Responsibility for Switzerland’s cooperation with the ECB rests primarily with the Swiss National Bank.