On June 13, 2024, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA opened bankruptcy proceedings against FlowBank SA. The bank no longer has the minimum capital required for commercial activity. In addition, there is a possibility that the bank is over-indebted.
Bankruptcy proceedings can help protect depositors. According to current calculations, preferential deposits can be fully repaid with the help of the bank’s free funds. The first enforcement measures against FlowBank SA were implemented in October 2021, when serious violations of supervisory legislation were detected, in particular with regard to capital requirements, adequate organization requirements and risk management.
In October 2022, FINMA ordered measures to restore compliance with the law and appointed an independent auditor to monitor their implementation.
Repeated coercive measures against the bank were taken in June 2023.
The controller found that FlowBank SA repeatedly violated capital requirements, while the organization remained imperfect in various areas of the bank.
The investigation showed that the bank entered into a large number of high-risk business relationships. Long-term non-compliance with licensing conditions and the bank’s inability to restore compliance with the law, FINMA decided on March 8, 2024 to revoke the bank’s license and void its good conduct guarantee.