FSMA

Since 1 April 2011 the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) is one of the two authorities, along with the National Bank of Belgium (NBB), entrusted with the supervision of the Belgian financial sector. As a result of the reform of financial supervision in Belgium that took effect on that date, the FSMA received a new challenge and the powers necessary to supervise, among other things, the conduct of financial institutions and the products they sell. As a supervisory authority, the FSMA strives to ensure the honest and equitable treatment of financial consumers. It aims at the fair and orderly operation and the transparency of the financial markets by ensuring that listed companies provide correct and complete information. It promotes proper provision of financial services by verifying that financial institutions comply with rules of conduct, by supervising financial products, financial service providers and supplementary pensions, and by contributing to improving the education of financial consumers. In this way the FSMA seeks to ensure that the financial system deserves the trust of its users. The FSMA has seven principal tasks: 1. Supervision of financial markets and listed companies 2. Product supervision 3. Rules of conduct 4. Financial service providersand intermediaries 5. Financial education 6. Pensions 7. Euribor supervision For more details about the FSMA, please consult our website www.fsma.be