The operation of the Finnish Financial Services Authority (FSA) is governed by the Act on the Financial Supervision Authority, recently amended by the Finnish Parliament. Approximately 500 entities are supervised by the FSA, which operates in connection with the Finnish central bank, the Bank of Finland. These include credit institutions, investment firms and management companies of mutual funds. On the securities markets, entities such as the securities exchange, the option corporation, the clearing entity and the central securities depository – all of which currently operate as part of the HEX group – are also supervised by the FSA.
The main reasons for the amendments lie in the changes that have occurred on Finland’s financial markets. The supply of capital and financial services has become more international, the markets have become more efficient and their structure has changed. The provision of services, especially in the banking sector, has been concentrated into bigger and more international groups. The barriers between different lines of business have become smaller and credit institutions, investment firms and insurance companies have started to compete on the same markets.
