Die Rolle der FINMA bei Vergütungen in Banken und Versicherungen: Vergütungsrundschreiben und Aufsichtspraxis in harmonischer Dissonanz?

Compensation and remuneration schemes in financial institutions always have been, and still are, a hot potato. The past decade has been particularly eventful in terms of both regulation and supervision, not only in Switzerland, but also abroad. Against this backdrop, this article aims to discuss the role of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, FINMA, with regard to compensation in banks and insurance companies, in particular, whether or not FINMA actually fulfills this role. From this perspective, it may well be observed that FINMA’s supervisory practice has a focus on financial market law and a focus on corporate law. Based on FINMA’s tasks and supervisory instruments, this article basically argues that FINMA meets expectations regarding financial market law, but should show greater
restraint when dealing with questions of corporate law. The article therefore concludes that the interplay between FINMA’s regulation and supervision in the area of compensation is only partially harmonious. To call a spade a spade, FINMA’s continuous transformation from «gatekeeper» to «governor» is certainly not unproblematic.