Organisation and tasks

Finanssivalvonta, or the Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA), is the authority for supervision of Finland’s financial and insurance sectors. The entities supervised by the authority include banks, insurance and pension companies as well as other companies operating in the insurance sector, investment firms, fund management companies and the Helsinki Stock Exchange. As much as 95% of our activities will be funded by the supervised entities and the remainder will be provided by the Bank of Finland.

Administratively we operate in connection with the Bank of Finland, but we make independent decisions in our supervisory work. FIN-FSA has about 200 employees. Our office is situated in Helsinki.

The objective of our activities is to enable balanced operations of credit institutions, insurance and pension companies and other supervised entities in stable financial markets. Our objective is also to protect the rights of the insured and foster public confidence in financial market operations. In addition, we are responsible for promoting compliance with good practice in financial markets and disseminating general knowledge about the markets. These objectives and duties have been included in the Act on the Financial Supervisory Authority.

We work for the benefit of the users of banking, insurance and investment services.

The activities of the Financial Supervisory Authority are supervised by the Parliamentary Supervisory Council. The Board of the Financial Supervisory Authority sets the objectives for the activities of the supervisor, decides the operational principles, and guides and supervises achievement of, and compliance with, these objectives and principles.

The Director General is responsible for managing the activities of the supervisor and taking decisions other than those falling within the competence of the Board. The Director General is assisted by an advisory management group, consisting of the heads of department and other employees appointed by the Director General.

The organisation of the Financial Supervisory Authority consists of four departments: Capital Markets Supervision, Banking Supervision, Digitalisation and Analysis and Insurance Supervision. The departments break  own into 2–4 divisions. As well as departments, there is one unit reporting directly to the Director General, Director General’s Staff.

Board

The responsibilities of FIN-FSA and its Board are governed by law. The Board oversees supervisory activities by deciding overall strategy, setting operational objectives and directing and supervising achievement of the objectives and compliance with the strategy. The Board discusses the budget of FIN-FSA and submits it to the Board of the Bank of Finland for confirmation. Among other things, the Board also approves the regulations issued by FIN-FSA and decides on penalty payments and other administrative sanctions. Once a year, the Board supplies the Parliamentary Supervisory Council with a report on the operational objectives of FIN-FSA and their achievement. The composition of the Parliamentary Supervisory Council is available on the Bank of Finland website.

The Board consults representatives of financial market participants annually. These consultations provide an opportunity to hear the latter’s’ views on FIN-FSA's budget and on supervisory objectives and their achievement. In addition, expected changes in supervisory work and their impact on supervision fees are also discussed.

The Board has six members appointed for a term of three years, and three deputy members at any one time. The members and deputy members are appointed by the Parliamentary Supervisory Council. Members appointed on the basis of a proposal by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Bank of Finland each have a designated deputy member.

Composition of the Board

The CVs of board members can be accessed via the links below.

  • Marja Nykänen, Chairman, Deputy Governor (Bank of Finland)
  • Pauli Kariniemi, Vice Chairman, Head of Department, Director General (Ministry of Finance)
  • Lasse Heiniö, MSc, (SHV) Actuary approved by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health
  • Martti Hetemäki, Doctor of Social Science, Professor of Practice (Aalto University, University of Helsinki)
  • Leena Kallasvuo, Msc (Econ.)
  • Liisa Siika-aho, Head of Department, Director General (Ministry of Social Affairs and Health)

Katja Taipalus, Head of Department, acts as deputy for Marja Nykänen. Paula Kirppu, Senior Ministerial Adviser, Legislative Affairs, acts as deputy for Pauli Kariniemi. Director Jaana Rissanen acts as deputy for Liisa Siika-aho.

The Secretary to the Board is Merja Lehtimäki, Chief Legal Advisor.

Management group

The CVs of management group members can be accessed via the links below.

The Secretary to the management group is Antti Pärnänen, Team Leader.