In the world of global financial crimes compliance, one national regulator that has become increasingly visible and assertive is the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). FINMA’s supervisory and regulatory mandate extends across the Swiss financial sector to banks, insurance companies, financial institutions, collective investment schemes, and their asset managers and fund management companies.[1]
In carrying out that mandate, FINMA has been active on a variety of fronts relating to financial crimes. These include issuance of a revised Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Ordinance, sanctioning of leading Swiss bank Julius Baer for serious AML failings, and continuing cooperation with U.S. and other financial regulators and enforcement authorities.[2]
On April 2, FINMA published its 2019 Annual Report, which for the first time integrates FINMA’s Enforcement Report.[3] While the Report covered all aspects of FINMA’s supervisory and regulatory activity, it included three topics that are of particular interest from a risk and compliance perspective. Continue reading