On 24 April 2025, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) published a Press release discussing the findings from its survey on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) across the Swiss financial sector. The survey, conducted between November 2024 and January 2025, involved approximately 400 regulated financial institutions, including banks, securities firms, insurers, fund managers, and financial market infrastructures. It provides a data-driven view of AI adoption, related risks, and the supervisory outlook in Switzerland.
FINMA in its report states that around 50% of surveyed institutions are currently using AI in their daily operations, with an additional 25% planning adoption within the next three years. Institutions report, on average, five applications in active use and nine under development. AI usage is notably more advanced among larger entities, while smaller institutions rely predominantly on external providers and outsourced AI solutions. Moreover, 91% of AI adopters reported using generative AI models, including chatbots such as ChatGPT, indicating a sharp rise in dependence on BigTech platforms.
Strategic Integration and Governance Priorities
Roughly half of all institutions have integrated AI into explicit institutional strategies, highlighting the growing strategic relevance of AI in Swiss finance. Institutions largely apply existing governance structures to AI use, with focus areas spanning data protection, cybersecurity, data management, and enterprise risk management. FINMA demarcated the primary AI-related risks as:
- Data quality and explainability
- Data protection and security
- Reliance on third-party service providers, which heightens outsourcing risks.
These outsourcing concerns have already been flagged in FINMA’s 2024 Risk Monitor, positioning AI-linked service dependencies as a central source of operational vulnerability.
Consistent with its 2025–2028 strategic goals, FINMA reiterates its commitment to technology-neutral supervision based on the principle of “same business, same risks, same rules.” The survey enables FINMA to enhance its risk-based oversight of AI deployments and to ensure regulatory compliance as firms scale their use of advanced technologies.
In its Guidance 08/2024, FINMA outlined supervisory expectations for AI governance and risk controls, advising that all regulated entities should consult FINMA in advance of integrating AI into critical business functions or regulatory calculations. The regulator emphasises that early dialogue is essential where AI tools intersect with core risk models, capital requirement computations, or client-facing automation.
Through this press release FINMA confirms that artificial intelligence is becoming a structural feature of the Swiss financial ecosystem, bringing with it both efficiency gains and significant supervisory challenges. FINMA’s aiming to facilitate innovation while ensuring oversight, with transparency, accountability, and risk management at the core of AI implementation strategies. Institutions must align with these expectations to remain compliant in Switzerland’s evolving digital finance landscape.
(Source: https://www.finma.ch/en/news/2025/04/20250424-mm-umfrage-ki/)
