The Financial Stability Authority and Financial Stability Fund financial statements for 2024 published

In 2024, the FFSA continued its long-term work to prepare banks for crisis situations. The FFSA achieved its effectiveness and performance targets well. The job satisfaction of the personnel remained at a high level despite occasional heavy workload. In the assessment of the agency’s crisis management capability, the maturity levels of the activities increased, and the evaluations of the functionalities resulted in better estimates than those in 2023.

In its operations, the agency considered the weakened operating environment, in which risk levels have increased due to geopolitical tensions and the weak prospects of the domestic economy. Several examples of the realisation of risks were seen during the past year, in the form of large-scale cyberattacks against Nordic banks, domestic real estate fund difficulties and incidents involving undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.

Banks had to meet the resolvability, i.e. resolution capacity, requirements set for them, by the end of 2024. According to the FFSA assessment, there is still room for improvement in the resolution capacities of Finnish banks within its remit, but none of the individual deficiencies or the shortcomings as a whole are significant enough to require the use of the agency’s special powers to remove obstacles to resolvability.
 

Strengthening crisis management capacity in focus

The FFSA developed the implementation capacity of resolution tools and cooperation between authorities in crisis situations. The agency’s crisis management capacity was tested in two extensive simulation entities. The exercises collected observations on development targets, and their implementation was launched on a risk basis. 

During the spring, the agency tested its ability to pay deposit guarantee compensations to depositors both in Finland and in international cooperation. These extensive simulation exercises ended the Deposit Guarantee Exercises and Tests 2021–2024, which verified the agency’s ability to pay deposit guarantee compensations in the event of the insolvency of both a Finnish bank and a foreign bank with a branch operating in Finland, within the statutory seven working days period. 

In the autumn, the FFSA participated in a joint exercise by the financial stability authorities of the Nordic and Baltic countries, where the readiness to manage a simulated financial crisis was tested by simultaneously practising the resolution measures of three banks operating in the countries of the imaginary region. 

The agency maintained a high readiness for the introduction of a security of supply account system that safeguards daily payments in emergency conditions and during serious disruptions in normal conditions. The agency also intensified international cooperation in preparing for disruptions to critical infrastructure of the financial markets.
 

Funds reached their target levels

The Financial Stability Fund, which is an off-budget state fund comprised by the Deposit Guarantee Fund and the Single Resolution Fund and managed by the FFSA, reached its target levels during the year. Funds have been accumulated since 2015 through deposit guarantee contributions collected from banks and stability fees collected from investment firms. 

The Deposit Guarantee Fund reached its target level by the deadline of 3 July 2024. In 2024, the fund was accrued through deposit guarantee contributions and a partial payment of the deposit guarantee scheme participation fee for a total of EUR 152.3 million. The assets of the Deposit Guarantee Fund increased to EUR 1.24 billion, during the year. 

The Single Resolution Fund (SRF) reached its target level by the deadline of 31 December 2024. In 2024, the SRF collected some EUR 99,275 in stability fees from investment firms with statutory payment obligation. At the end of the financial year, the fund had assets totalling EUR 897,487. 

The most significant change in the operations of the Deposit Guarantee Fund in 2024 was the launch of active investment activities. In 2023, the agency prepared the procurements and operating models needed for investment activities, and investment activities were launched in the first quarter of 2024. 

At the end of 2024, the market value of the Deposit Guarantee Fund’s investments was EUR 898.1 million and the balance sheet value EUR 883.5 million. The investments consist exclusively of fixed-income investments denominated in euro, with at least credit rating A. When choosing investment targets, particular attention is paid to their security and monetisation.

Further information: Director General Jaakko Weuro ([email protected])

Find out more about the Financial Stability Authority’s financial statements and annual report for 2024 (in Finnish).

Find out more about the Financial Stability Fund’s financial statements and annual report for 2024 (in Finnish).