Speaking at the Small Bank Symposium in Bern on 7 September 2026, FINMA’s chief executive set out to answer a complaint the supervisor keeps hearing: that Switzerland’s small institutions are watched too closely while the large banks are left alone. His defence rested on the FINMA small banks regime, the voluntary framework that has run…
On 20 August 2026 FINMA published a short notice reminding supervised financial intermediaries that the Federal Council had, the day before, adopted the further measures of the European Union’s 20th Russia sanctions package. The FINMA Russia sanctions notice points to a decision taken on 19 August 2026, with the new Swiss measures entering into force…
On 19 August 2026 FINMA flagged an update to the ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida sanctions notification tied to Ordinance SR 946.231.08. The trigger sits one step upstream: the UN Security Council’s ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee amended its list by decision of 14 August 2026, and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) adjusted…
FINMA’s updated Iran sanctions notification of 18 August 2026 marks a precise moment on the clock. At 23:00 that evening, an amendment to Annexes 12, 13 and 14 of the Ordinance of 12 December 2025 on measures against the Islamic Republic of Iran (SR 946.231.143.6) took effect. The Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and…
On 12 August 2026, FINMA published two sanctions notifications on the same day: one on Switzerland’s Ukraine ordinance (SR 946.231.176.72) and one on its Moldova ordinance (SR 946.231.156.5). Both notices concern EAER amendments made on 10 August 2026. SECO and Fedlex state that the measures entered into force at 23:00 on 11 August 2026. The…
On 12 August 2026, the Swiss Federal Council opened a consultation on amendments to the Banking Act and the Liquidity Ordinance that would rewrite how the country supervises, disciplines and, if necessary, resolves its largest banks. The consultation runs until 19 November 2026, and it is the legislative core of the Swiss too-big-to-fail reform that…
FINMA published two updated sanctions notifications on 11 August 2026, one for Sudan and one for South Sudan, after the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER/WBF) amended Annex 2 of each ordinance. For a Swiss supervised institution, the FINMA notifications are an operational alert that the relevant Annex 2 lists changed. The…
On 31 July 2026, SECO adjusted SESAM, the sanctions database that Swiss financial intermediaries screen against, to reflect a 30 July 2026 decision by the responsible UN Sanctions Committee that amended the list attached to the Taliban sanctions ordinance (SR 946.231.07). FINMA flagged the change in a supervisory notice on 4 August 2026. For a…
On 12 January 2026 the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) published Guidance 01/2026, Custody of cryptobased assets, addressing institutions subject to FINMA supervision and identifying banks, securities firms, managers of collective assets and portfolio managers in particular. The document carries a blunt message: it restates the rules that already govern crypto custody in Switzerland…