The FIN-FSA’s vision is to be a proactive and predictable supervisor. This means that the supervisor must monitor changes in the operating environment and anticipate their impacts on supervision. The vision also entails that the FIN-FSA acts consistently and predictably in its own activities. Development of activities towards this objective began in 2023.

Published information on supervisory focus areas

At the beginning of the year, the FIN-FSA published the focus areas for inspections and thematic reviews during the year, and these were mainly followed through. In accordance with the strategy, the FIN-FSA will be flexible in its activities, and therefore a small proportion of planned inspections and thematic reviews were postponed to a more opportune time from the perspective of the operating environment and more extensive supervisory initiatives.

By publishing its supervisory focus areas, the supervisor signals the topics it considers important in supervision. This also steers the supervised entities to pay attention to these themes.

The supervisor may also make inspections outside the published plan and intervene in any shortcomings it becomes aware of.

Transparency about supervision steers supervised entities to act appropriately

The objective of supervision is that supervised entities are able and willing to do the right thing. This requires clarity, predictability and transparent communications by the supervisor.

The FIN-FSA publishes a supervisory or press release on thematic reviews completed, and often also a report. The subjects of the thematic review will receive more detailed information on the findings made by the supervisor. Based on the results of the thematic reviews, more detailed reviews can be launched.

Inspections concerning individual supervised entities are discussed with the supervised entity. Based on the findings of the inspection, guidance can be prepared for other supervised entities, or supervision may be focused on other supervised entities.

As part of the development of predictability, the FIN-FSA is assessing how to better communicate the results of an individual investigation and thereby potentially steer the entire field of supervised entities by telling how the supervisor interprets regulation and what it emphasises in its reviews.

Consistency of supervision in different areas

Proactivity and predictability have been developed by harmonising supervisory practices and the interpretation of regulation in the steering group for supervision. A significant part of regulation and changes in the operating environment concerns several sectors of supervised entities, and it is important that these changes are shown as consistently as possible in different sectors.

High quality of data and analysis enables proactivity

In accordance with its strategy, the FIN-FSA utilises effectively the information and data collected by it in supervision, and a high-quality analysis of the information enables proactive supervision. The FIN-FSA has paid particular attention to the quality of data obtained from supervised entities and has imposed sanctions, for example, on shortcomings in reporting on derivatives contracts.

The FIN-FSA will utilise the data collected by it in new thematic reviews. As an example, the thematic review published in January 2024 on Finnish banks’ liquidity strengthens the supervisor’s situational view in the challenging economic conditions.

Background information on supervision for the media

The FIN-FSA improves its predictability beyond the scope of supervised entities, for example by providing a backdrop to its supervisory efforts by writing blogs and arranging explanatory events for the media in addition to news-focused press conferences. In the context of changes in the operating environment, the FIN-FSA publishes information on its supervisory focus in the prevailing situation and its expectations for the supervised entities.

You can follow and subscribe to FIN-FSA news and releases through the website Publications and press releases – www.finanssivalvonta.fi