The FMA’s Tasks
The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) is an institution under public law with its own legal personality as defined by a provision in the rank of constitutional law that has been established to conduct banking supervision, insurance supervision, pension company supervision and securities supervision. In addition, the FMA is also the national resolution authority. The FMA’s task is to enforce the supervisory laws stipulated in the Financial Market Authority Act (FMABG; Finanzmarktaufsichtsbehördengesetz). Its jurisdiction covers the entire federal territory of Austria, and it is not bound by any instructions in the performance of its duties.
The supervisory tasks legally conferred upon the FMA can be split roughly into two respective approaches, namely “solvency supervision” and “market and conduct supervision”. In addition, its tasks also cover several cross-sectoral topics, such as the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing as well as the monitoring of international financial sanctions.
The primary objective of solvency supervision is to ensure that the banks, insurance undertakings and financial service providers are solvent at all times and are able to meet their contractual obligations.
Market and conduct supervision is intended to ensure fair and transparent business conditions and to monitor compliance with minimum standards in governance as well as in the advice and information provided to customers.
Furthermore, particular importance is also placed on combating unauthorised banking, insurance and financial services business, as well as preventative measures against money laundering and terrorist financing.
From 1 January 2026, the FMA will assume responsibility for the monitoring and enforcement of international financial sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) (e.g. against Russia and Iran). This ensures that sanctions restrictions are reviewed efficiently and enforced consistently.
This task complements existing cross-sectoral topics such as prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing and will be conducted in close cooperation with the Oesterreichische Nationalbank until responsibilities are transferred fully.
Areas of Supervision
Supervision of the Austrian financial market consists of three core areas: banking supervision, insurance and pensions companies supervision, and securities supervision.
Credit institutions form the focal point of banking supervision. However, payment institutions also fall within the competence of this department, due to the similar requirements placed upon them under supervisory law.
The Banking Supervision department handles:
- licensing, approval and notification procedures
- official supervisory procedures
- official supervision of banks’ internal models
- instructing the Oesterreichische Nationalbank to conduct on-site inspections
- monitoring of corrective action taken by credit institutions
- legal interpretation of matters specific to banking supervision
- analysing and gathering qualitative information
- evaluation of the results of analyses regarding official steps to be taken
- involvement in shaping banking supervision regulation
- representation in international committees in relation to banking supervision
- supervisory issues regarding the branches and representative offices of foreign credit institutions
- cross-border supervision by means of the concept of consolidating supervision.
Insurance and Pensionskassen (pension companies) supervision in particular focuses on:
- licensing, approval and notification procedures
- official supervisory procedures
- ongoing monitoring of all activities of insurance undertakings and pension companies including on-site inspections
- regulatory developments in relation to insurance and pension company supervision
- international cooperation and participation within the European System of Financial Supervision
The objectives of securities supervision are to monitor the financial market’s transparency and integrity, to ensure the economic interest in a functioning capital market and the interests of investors.
Securities supervision’s tasks include in particular:
- monitoring of capital markets in relation to market abuse, issuers, licensing, ongoing supervision of market operators and authorisation and ongoing supervision of market infrastructures.
- licensing, ongoing supervision analysis and on-site inspections of securities companies
- authorisation, ongoing supervision analysis and on-site inspections of crowdfunding services providers
- authorisation, ongoing supervision analysis and on-site inspections of crypto-asset service providers
- licensing, ongoing supervision analysis and on-site inspections of management companies, alternative investment fund managers and their custodian banks as well as benchmark administrators
- licensing, ongoing supervision, analysis and on-site inspections of securities companies
- approval of capital market prospectuses and ongoing supervision in accordance with the provisions under prospectus law and checking disclosure obligations of European Green Bonds
- market monitoring in relation to financial instruments and structured deposits under MiFIR, whistleblowing as well as consumer information including complaints management and coordination of product intervention
Banking Resolution
The FMA assumed the additional role as national resolution authority under the Bank Recovery and Resolution Act (BaSAG), with effect from 1 January 2015. Consequently, in the event of the default or the threat of default of an institution, it is responsible for the institution’s order resolution to ensure financial market stability.
The Banking Resolution department develops and draws up preventive resolution plans to allow their implementation by applying the instruments at their disposal in the event of a bank being placed into resolution. Since 1 January 2016, the FMA as the national resolution authority, has also been part of the European system for bank resolution. A separate resolution authority, the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM), has been established at European level for banks subject to direct supervision by the European Central Bank within the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM). The SRM makes significant decisions for the significant institutions (in cooperation with the European Council and the European Commission), but in the execution of these decisions has to draw upon the respective national resolution authority.
Consumer, Investor and Creditor Protection
The FMA’s most important contribution to the protection of consumers, investors and creditors is monitoring the capital banks and observance of legal conduct rules by banks, insurance undertakings, pension companies and investment services providers and to thereby ensure a stable Austrian financial sector. Furthermore, the Financial Market Authority is committed to prevailing transparency and fairness in the Austrian capital market. The FMA, however, is not a classical consumer protection organisation. To ensure that the supervisory authority has the same distance towards all market participants, the FMA does not have any legal means to aid parties making a complaint in asserting compensation claims under civil law.
The FMA takes every complaint made by consumers, investors or credits against market participants seriously. Information and complaints made against market participants are an important source of information for supervision purposes. The FMA’s complaints handling and consumer hotline provide information about the legal options and follows up about all information received in relation to relevant undesirable developments or potential breaches of supervisory standards.
The legislator does not treat complainants as parties in administrative penal proceedings conducted by the FMA and they are also not given any access rights to files. Official secrecy, to which the FMA’s bodies and employees are all subject, forbids the disclosure of information about the progress or outcome of investigations. Courts, however, are able to obtain such information by means of administrative assistance.
Further consumer protection-related information can be found on our microsite Let’s talk about money.