FINMA Welcomes Federal Council TBTF Banking Act Dispatch
Summary
FINMA issued a press release on 22 April 2026 welcoming the Federal Council's dispatch on revision of Switzerland's Banking Act concerning "too big to fail" (TBTF) capital requirements. The dispatch proposes strengthening capital bases of systemically important banks, abolishing "double leverage" for foreign subsidiaries, and granting FINMA enhanced supervisory powers including an accountability regime, authority to impose fines, and statutory powers for early intervention and proactive public communication. FINMA advocates that all proposed measures be implemented in their entirety to fully address lessons from the Credit Suisse crisis.
“FINMA therefore considers it essential that the measures proposed in the Federal Council's parameters for amendments to the Banking Act are implemented in their entirety.”
Swiss systemically important banks and their foreign subsidiaries should monitor parliamentary progress on this Banking Act revision, as the abolition of double leverage and new FINMA supervisory powers—including accountability regimes, fine authority, and early intervention tools—would create significant new compliance obligations. FINMA's explicit advocacy for full implementation signals it intends to use these new powers once enacted.
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GovPing monitors FINMA Switzerland for new banking & finance regulatory changes. Every update since tracking began is archived, classified, and available as free RSS or email alerts — 8 changes logged to date.
What changed
FINMA publicly welcomed the Federal Council's adopted dispatch revising Switzerland's Banking Act to strengthen the "too big to fail" framework for systemically important banks. Key proposals include increased capital requirements, abolition of double leverage for foreign subsidiaries, introduction of an accountability regime, statutory authority for FINMA to impose fines, and powers for early intervention and proactive public communication about concluded proceedings. The bill now proceeds to Parliament for consideration.
Affected parties—systemically important banks operating in Switzerland—should monitor parliamentary progress on the Banking Act revision, as the proposed measures would significantly expand supervisory powers and capital obligations. FINMA has explicitly recommended full implementation of all proposed preventive measures, signalling its intent to utilise the new statutory tools once enacted.
Archived snapshot
Apr 22, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
News
22 April 2026 Press release 2026
FINMA welcomes the Federal Council’s dispatch on the revision of the Banking Act
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) welcomes the dispatch on the revision of the Banking Act, which the Federal Council adopted today. The bill is one of several key measures aimed at strengthening banking stability. In order to achieve the best possible results, FINMA recommends that the measures proposed in the Federal Council’s parameters for amendments to the Banking Act be implemented in their entirety. In particular, it advocates for the strengthening of statutory instruments aimed at prevention. The Federal Council announced today how it intends to amend the “too big to fail” framework in Switzerland with regard to capital requirements. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) welcomes the bill adopted by the Federal Council. The fact that foreign subsidiaries of systemically important banks are not fully backed with capital (“double leverage”) has been regarded as a risk internationally for over two decades. In Switzerland, the abolition of double leverage is now being recommended for the second time since 2012. It is up to politicians to weigh up the interests of the bank’s shareholders against the risks to taxpayers.
The planned reforms of the “too big to fail” (TBTF) regulation as a whole are crucial to the future stability and prosperity of Switzerland as a financial centre and, consequently, to the prosperity of our country. However, the bill passed today to strengthen the capital base of systemically important banks is just one of many elements.
Strengthening the law through new preventive measures
In an increasingly complex risk landscape, a strong risk culture and governance, as well as adequate risk coverage in terms of capital and liquidity, are essential for the financial resilience of individual institutions. At the same time, statutory powers that allow the supervisory authority to take preventive action are of central importance.
For three years, FINMA has also been publicly advocating for the strengthening of its statutory instruments, as included and recommended in both the Federal Council’s TBTF report and the Parliamentary Investigation Committee (PInC) report. In particular, FINMA supports the introduction of an accountability regime, the authority to impose fines, and the statutory power to communicate more actively with the public about concluded proceedings and to intervene at an early stage.
The lessons from the Credit Suisse crisis will have been learnt once the law has been strengthened by these liberal and preventive measures. FINMA therefore considers it essential that the measures proposed in the Federal Council’s parameters for amendments to the Banking Act are implemented in their entirety.
Contact
Patrizia Bickel
Head of External Communications
Phone +41 (0)31 327 93 19
patrizia.bickel@finma.ch
Press release FINMA welcomes the Federal Council’s dispatch on the revision of the Banking Act
Updated: 22.04.2026 Size: 0.12 MB
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