Against the backdrop of geopolitical instabilities, global uncertainty and disruptive technological developments, Austria’s financial sector has again proven itself as being stable, profitable and well capitalised in the past year.
“Austria’s financial sector remains part of the solution, not part of the problem”, remarked Executive Director Helmut Ettl at the presentation of the Austrian Financial Market Authority’s 2025 Annual Report. “Its security is not a given, but must be continually re-established. The FMA contributes by conducting competent, efficient and effective supervision. In times of continuing heightened uncertainty and instability, any push towards deregulation would be a step in the wrong direction.”
“Sound financial figures are a basic requirement for the security and stability of the financial system – and overall Austrian institutions have very sound levels of capital, liquidity and solvency”, added Executive Director Mariana Kühnel. “Credit institutions and insurance undertakings are able to support Austria’s growth and competitiveness, and are themselves at the forefront on the international stage,” Kühnel remarks. However, it is necessary to remain well prepared for potential knock-on effects from international turmoil and for risks at national level, such as in the real estate sector, to be kept in check.
The FMA therefore recommends supervised entities to continue to build up additional capital reserves, to take a conservative approach to valuation, to form adequate provisioning, and to reduce non-performing loans swiftly. The healthy profits that are currently being posted should also be used towards investments in core areas, such as digitalisation, increasing efficiency and cybersecurity.
2025 was also the first year of supervision of the crypto-assets market under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR). The FMA has established competent and consistent supervision in this new and dynamic sector. The FMA discloses reporting data for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) licensed by the FMA in its annual report for the first time. “It is important for us that supervision in Europe is conducted in a harmonised way,” explained Mariana Kühnel. “We are in favour of a model under which the largest CASPs are directly supervised by ESMA, while small ones remain under national supervision, in a manner similar to that for banks that fall under ECB supervision.”
Similarly to MiCAR, the EU’s legal framework for digital operational resilience (DORA) was first applicable in 2025, and brought with it greater transparency regarding the cybersecurity and digital risk of Austrian and European financial undertakings. The FMA especially focuses on the use of artificial intelligence in the financial sector and forthcoming supervision of its use. A current FMA survey on AI usage shows that it has established itself in Austrian financial undertakings. There are pilot projects and testing in the fields of fraud prevention, for identification processes, in the prevention of money laundering, and in handling damage claim reports.
The fruits of many years of preparatory work and the consistent strengthening of the supervision of the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing were emphatically confirmed during the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) country inspection that took place last year. The resulting report which was published in April conferred the Austrian financial sector a “substantial” rating – the second highest rating. Procedures conducted by the FMA handled in Austrian courts during the reporting year were also confirmed: the Federal Administrative Court (BVwG; Bundesverwaltungsgericht) and the Supreme Administrative Court (VwGH; Verwaltungsgerichtshof) did not rule against any administrative decisions issued by the FMA.
All data, facts and figures for the 2025 reporting year can be found in the FMA’s Annual Report: https://www.fma.gv.at/en/publications/fma-annual-report/
Figures and charts relating to the Annual Report
The charts from the FMA Annual Report 2025 and the underlying data can be downloaded in Excel file format (in German only).
Journalists may address further enquiries to
Boris Gröndahl (FMA Media Spokesperson)
Telephone: +43 (1) 249 59-6010
Mobile: +43 676 8824 9995
E-Mail: [email protected]