News
SFMA annual media conference 2026
SFMA reviewed its 2025 supervision, including resilience work, inspections, client protection, enforcement limits and resource growth.
At its annual media conference, SFMA outlined the main areas of its 2025 supervision. It applied a proportional, risk-based approach, strengthened resilience among supervised institutions and focused on early identification of emerging risks.
SFMA published its 2025 annual report and made related statistics and enforcement case data available online.
Stability in a challenging environment
SFMA reviewed a year shaped by heightened financial and non-financial risks. Macroeconomic and geopolitical tensions added volatility, so the authority further strengthened supervised institutions' resilience and early risk detection. In spring 2025, SFMA reorganised internally to make intensified supervision more effective and efficient.
Proportionate resilience and prevention work
During 2025, SFMA identified systemic and operational risks through inspections, audits, stress tests and data surveys. It conducted 113 targeted on-site inspections at banks, including 42 at UBS, 43 at insurers and 20 in asset management. Reviews focused mainly on supervisory categories 1 to 3, while smaller or lower-risk institutions were supervised more through data and targeted inspections.
SFMA also conducted stress tests, including its first liquidity stress tests for Swiss investment funds, and took action where 2025 stress-test results were unsatisfactory.
At banks, SFMA increased direct deep dives on corporate governance, risk management, risk culture and business models. Where serious deficiencies were found, institutions were required to remedy them quickly. SFMA imposed institution-specific capital add-ons in 14 cases, restrictions on business activity or takeover bans in 7 cases, and launched enforcement proceedings in 15 cases.
Capital planning dialogues were tailored to each institution's size and risk profile. Systemically important banks had to show how they would respond to adverse capital developments in specified stress scenarios. SFMA also assessed additional liquidity requirements effective from the start of 2025 and reviewed emergency and recovery plans. Insurance groups submitted recovery plans for the first time in 2025, with assessment planned for 2026.
Cyber and outsourcing risks
Cyber risk remained a principal non-financial risk. In almost half of the cyberattacks reported to SFMA by supervised institutions in 2025, service providers or outsourcing partners were targeted, with direct effects on supervised institutions. SFMA expects robust ICT crisis scenarios and appropriate cyber defences, and it carried out on-site inspections at outsourcing partners to understand supply-chain management. Some institutions did not adequately capture, document or monitor outsourced functions.
Client protection
SFMA said its supervision protected investors, creditors and policyholders in 2025. In supplementary health insurance, it secured only moderate premium adjustments and, in several cases, premium reductions. In Geneva and Vaud in particular, it stopped continued non-transparent billing practices by clinics and doctors, protecting policyholders from excessive future bills.
In asset management, SFMA placed more portfolio managers under intensive supervision because of deficiencies, often involving suitability conduct rules. It also worked against greenwashing so investors would not be misled.
In insurance intermediary supervision, SFMA explained requirements that have applied since 2024, refused many registration applications from unqualified intermediaries, received hundreds of misconduct reports, opened 271 further investigations and removed various intermediaries from the public register.
SFMA also supported innovation, licensing Switzerland's first DLT trading facility in 2025 while acting against abuse. It supported legal changes to protect creditors and investors in cryptocurrency purchase, trading and transfer, and pressed supervised institutions offering crypto services to manage operational risks, especially custody risks.
Enforcement communication limits
SFMA concluded 55 enforcement proceedings in 2025 across supervisory areas and institution types. In those cases, strict statutory requirements for active communication were not met, or a court order prevented communication.
The authority also acted against unauthorised financial market activity. Based on reports from the public, other authorities and its own supervision, it opened about 450 investigations into potentially unauthorised companies and individuals and added more than 300 entries to its warning list, a record level.
Growth from new tasks and risks
Intensified and forward-looking supervision increased staff needs. Since 2024, SFMA has supervised about 10,000 insurance intermediaries, while risks have grown or become more visible. It will conduct more inspections itself, rely less on external auditors and deploy them more risk-based. Average permanent full-time equivalents rose to 617 in 2025 from 554 in 2024.
Operating costs rose to CHF 172 million in 2025 from CHF 154 million in 2024, an increase of CHF 18 million. Costs were covered by supervisory fees and levies, not taxpayer funding.
Outlook
SFMA will continue to apply and enforce regulation proportionately and risk-based. Smaller and lower-risk institutions receive less intensive supervision, and the authority will use its discretion where appropriate.
About 90% of enforcement investigations restore legal compliance within roughly three months. In the remaining 10%, the process takes longer and SFMA reaches the limits of its current powers. SFMA therefore continues to argue for an accountability regime, fining powers, more active public communication about concluded proceedings and earlier intervention powers.