Financial market 2025: Risks for companies and challenges for banks!

Financial market 2025: Risks for companies and challenges for banks!

Laimgrubengasse 10, 1060 Wien, Österreich - The Austrian financial market supervision (FMA) presented its supervisory and test focus on 2025 on December 9, 2024. In a recent report, FMA board members Helmut Ettl and Eduard Müller warn that the economic framework for the financial industry will be further tightened in the coming years. In particular, the persistent economic crisis and the increased interest rate level already have a noticeable impact on the balance sheets of the companies. Damage caused by factory closures and possible company bankruptcies could soon lead to an increase in unemployment, which would increase the pressure on households in Austria, as reported on the OTS page. The FMA sees the need that companies use their profits from previous years to strengthen their capital base and cushion future risks.

challenges for the financial system

The financial market supervision also deals with the long-term challenges in the financial sector, which were reinforced by the Covid 19 pandemic, inflation and geopolitical tensions. The aggressive expansion of Austrian banks to Eastern Europe and the associated risks are of central importance. Ettl emphasizes that the supervision has initiated reforms in the past, but have to be continuously developed in order to keep the financial system resilient. Further key risks include the need for an appropriate value assessment and the careful handling of profit distributions in order to be able to better counter future crises, such as the Standard has explained.

The FMA's board, especially Helmut Ettl, who has been in office since 2008, has experienced the developments and challenges of the financial market up close. He emphasizes that the FMA has learned from past crises and is now in a position to react to current and future challenges with an improved regulatory framework. The FMA also celebrates its 20th anniversary and takes stock of developments in the banking landscape, which are shaped by various crises. Overall, the FMA strives to strengthen trust in the financial system and to adapt the supervision accordingly to the current circumstances.