© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA is seen outside their headquarters in Bern, Switzerland April 5, 2016. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich/File Photo

ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss financial regulator FINMA wants to be able to name and shame banks which breach its rules, Chief Executive Stefan Walter told newspaper NZZ in an interview published on Tuesday.


The call is one of FINMA's demands for increased powers after the authority came under fire over its handling of Credit Suisse's collapse last year.


"Today, the publication of enforcement proceedings is the exception," Walter told the newspaper. "In the future, non-communication should be the exception."


Naming and shaming financial institutions would have a disciplinary effect if the companies knew punishments would be made public, said Walter, who took up his post in April.


"It also shows what the supervision achieves," he said. "The dilemma of every supervisory authority is: if something goes wrong, everyone knows. If something is prevented, no one knows."


Banks needed to be more open and give full information, he said. If cooperation was not forthcoming, the regulator could carry out more on-site inspections.


"In extreme cases, you must have the option of holding individuals responsible and, if necessary, removing them," he said.


This required a co-called senior managers regime, where responsibility is assigned to individuals making it easier to trace who was at fault.


The Swiss government in April listed 22 recommendations to improve the regulation of the country's outsized financial sector, including tougher capital requirements.


Switzerland's biggest bank UBS, which took over Credit Suisse (CS) after the latter's collapse, has already flagged concerns about the potential changes in regulation, with Chairman Colm Kelleher saying a requirement to hold additional capital was the "wrong remedy."


FINMA's Walter said he did not want to start a "feud" with UBS's management, but said sufficient capital was needed to reduce the risk and extent of a crisis in future.


© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA is seen outside their headquarters in Bern, Switzerland April 5, 2016. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich/File Photo


"The distribution of capital within the bank is also important, which is crucial in the stabilization or resolution phase. The CS crisis has shown this," Walter told the paper.


"Capital requirements increase with increasing size. However, this does not solve the problem of capital distribution: we want the parent company to have enough buffer so that it does not become a bottleneck in a crisis."


Oil falls more than $1 on worries of supply rising later in 2024

By Paul Carsten LONDON (Reuters) -Oil prices fell more than $1 on Tuesday, extending losses from a f

SAP to restructure 8,000 roles in push towards AI

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of SAP is seen on their offices in Reston, Virginia, U.S., May 12, 2

Japan's Nippon Steel exec meets US Congress members amid US Steel deal

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Nippon Steel Corporation is displayed at the company headquarters

Santander Mexico to launch digital bank 'soon,' executive says

© Reuters. Santander Bank logo is seen in this illustration taken March 12, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

Netflix Q4 revenue tops estimates on blowout subscriber growth

© Reuters NFLX+1.33%Add to/Remove from WatchlistAdd to Watchlist

Analysis-China

2/2© Reuters. Vehicles drive through Beijing

ReTo faces Nasdaq delisting over equity shortfall

© Reuters. RETO+2.39%Add to/Remove from WatchlistAdd to Watchlist

Trailing Trump in Iowa, Haley touts foreign policy but VP question remains

© Reuters. Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki

L3Harris to suspend M&A program for 'foreseeable future'

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo and ticker for L3Harris are displayed on a screen on the floor of th

Oil rebounds from six-month-low but demand concerns linger

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A pump is seen at a gas station in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., August 11,

Why food discount stickers may be a thing of the past

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Fans of hunting out food with discounted stickers may soon

Analysis-Asian power generation gets cleaner, even as coal emissions rise

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises from chimneys near solar panels, during a Huawei-organised media