FINMA regulates through
ordinances, when so provided for in financial market legislation, and through
circulars on the application of financial market legislation. It does this to the extent that is necessary to fulfil the goals of supervision. In accordance with Art. 7 of the
Financial Market Supervision Act , FINMA therefore concentrates in particular on:
- the costs that supervised institutions would incur as a result of a regulatory measure;
- the impact a regulatory measure would have on the competitive environment, capacity for innovation and international competitiveness of the Swiss financial sector;
- the different business activities and risks of the supervised institutions;
- international minimum standards.
FINMA ensures that the regulatory process is transparent and that all those affected are given an appropriate say in developments.
FINMA has issued guidelines on financial market regulation (available in
German and
French). These guidelines from April 2010 replace those issued in September 2005.