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Switzerland FINMA Chair Highlights AI’s Expanding Role in Financial Supervision at Paris AMF–AEFR Conference

On 30 September 2025, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) Chair, Marlene Amstad, addressed the AMF–AEFR Conference on Technological Frontiers in Finance in Paris. The event was hosted by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) and the Association Europe Finances Régulations (AEFR), featuring global regulators including Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Chair of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and Tuang Lee Lim, Assistant Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Chair of the IOSCO Fintech Task Force. The discussion focused on the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) across financial markets and regulatory supervision. Amstad outlined FINMA’s findings from Swiss market surveys, the IOSCO SupTech Survey, and the global implications of AI for financial stability, governance, and international cooperation.

The conference brought together international financial regulators to examine how AI is transforming the operation and oversight of financial systems. Amstad’s address presented empirical findings from FINMA’s three surveys covering over 400 licensed Swiss institutions, banks, insurers, and asset managers, establishing that AI adoption is both widespread and rapidly evolving.

AI Adoption in Swiss Financial Markets

“FINMA’s three surveys of around 400 licensed institutions show that a significant part already use AI or have initial applications in development.”

Amstad observed that for each AI application already deployed, two more are under development. Financial institutions are applying AI to process optimisation, text generation, and generative chatbots. The reliance on external providers, particularly among smaller firms, has introduced new dimensions of outsourcing and operational risk. Governance models are adapting, with nearly half of Swiss institutions adopting formal AI strategies addressing data protection, cyber security, data quality, and risk management.

AI as a Driver of Supervisory Technology (SupTech)

“AI has become a leading enabler of SupTech adoption, ahead of cloud and improved data access.”

Drawing on the IOSCO SupTech Survey conducted under FINMA’s leadership, Amstad explained that supervisory authorities are shifting from experimentation to full operational use of technology. The report, presented at the IOSCO Annual Meeting in May 2025, confirmed that AI now plays a central role in market surveillance and investor protection. Authorities are also exploring its application in digital asset supervision, despite persisting challenges around cyber security and third-party dependencies.

AI and Financial Stability

“International standard-setting bodies have identified four key risks associated with AI in financial services.”

These risks include third-party concentration, market correlations, cyber threats, and model risk tied to data quality and governance. While these are not new, Amstad emphasised that AI may accelerate their impact. She underscored that a technology-neutral and proportional supervisory approach is essential to address these challenges effectively.

The conference built upon the findings of the IOSCO Annual Meeting held in May 2025, where SupTech developments were first formally reviewed. By September 2025, FINMA’s participation at the Paris conference reaffirmed Switzerland’s leadership in advancing cross-border supervisory cooperation. The discussions aimed to strengthen alignment among regulatory bodies in addressing AI-related systemic risks and promoting trust in financial oversight frameworks.

The Paris dialogue reinforced that AI integration into financial systems demands coordinated regulatory governance. FINMA’s approach reflects a balanced, principle-based methodology, prioritising resilience, data integrity, and operational transparency within a technology-neutral framework.

(Source: https://www.finma.ch/en/~/media/finma/dokumente/dokumentencenter/myfinma/finma-publikationen/referate-und-artikel/20250930-amme-paris-amf-aefr-konferenz.pdf?sc_lang=en)