Legal Basis

The FMA is a public-law institution with its own legal personality set up to implement banking supervision, insurance supervision, pension companies supervision and securities supervision [constitutional provision: Article 1 para. 1 of the Finanzmarktaufsichtsbehördengesetz (FMABG; Financial Market Authority Act)]. The FMA enforces the supervisory acts listed in Article 2 paras. 1 to 4 of the FMABG (including BWG, InvFG, ImmoInvFG, ZaDIG, VAG, PKG, WAG 2007, BörseG, KMG, FKG). It is responsible for the entire federal territory and is not bound by any instructions in the exercising of its office.

Regulations: Regulations are general administrative acts provided for under constitutional law. They stipulate generally binding requirements on the basis of the legal statutes. In its capacity as an administrative authority, the FMA may issue regulations on the basis of the authority conferred on it by the statutory provisions. FMA regulations are published in the Federal Law Gazette.

Circulars: The FMA uses circulars to publish its interpretation of the legal position derived from laws or regulations in relation to supervisory issues. Circulars are used to inform the public about particular requirements that, in the FMA’s opinion, can be derived from legal interpretation of the relevant laws or regulations.

Minimum standards: The FMA uses minimum standards to set out the requirements derived from market standards and to publish wider recommendations on supervisory issues. Minimum standards are used to inform the public of requirements, adherence to which, in the FMA’s view, corresponds to current or new market standards.

Standard compliance codes: These are codes setting out standard commercial usage which are published by interest groups in the commercial sector with the FMA’s involvement. They represent minimum standards that have been accepted by all members of the sector in the interests of promoting market confidence.