The case

In an extensive interview, FINMA Chair Marlene Amstad argues that Switzerland’s financial regulator should be granted the authority to impose fines and publicly disclose serious regulatory breaches committed by financial institutions.

Source: NZZ am Sonntag – Beatrice Bösiger und Chanchal Biswas – page 36 – 05.07.2026

The commentary

According to Amstad, transparency is essential to strengthen market discipline. “On average, we conclude around 40 enforcement proceedings each year, yet we are permitted to inform the public of about only around 5 % of these cases,” she says. By contrast, regulators in other major financial centres publicly disclose between 95 % to 100 % of concluded enforcement actions.

She emphasizes that these cases involve serious misconduct rather than technical or administrative infringements. “Around one-third of our enforcement proceedings relate to anti-money laundering failures, including cases linked to human trafficking and terrorist financing activities that have no place in the Swiss financial centre.“

Amstad also calls for FINMA to be empowered to impose financial penalties. In her view, regulatory breaches are often attempts to gain an unfair competitive advantage over compliant institutions. “The ability to impose fines would not only deter misconduct but would also help preserve a level playing field by ensuring that firms do not benefit from breaking the rules.“