Inaugural meeting of the Financial Market Stability Board

Macroprudential supervision as a key lesson from the financial crisis

The Financial Market Stability Board (FMSB) convened for its inaugural meeting on September 8, 2014. The FMSB has been established to strengthen cooperation in the field of macroprudential supervision and to promote financial stability. The inaugural meeting brought together representatives of the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Fiscal Advisory Council, the Financial Market Authority (FMA) and the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB). The FMSB will hold four regular meetings per year.

What is macroprudential supervision?

Macroprudential supervision is the forward-looking analysis and identification of risks to the stability of the financial system. Risks to financial stability include cyclical and structural risks as well as fundamental factors affecting incentives for risk-taking in the financial system. Macroprudential supervisors use a set of powers and instruments to address potential vulnerabilities of the financial system. For instance, banks constituting a major risk to the soundness and integrity of the financial system may be required to build up and maintain additional capital buffers. Establishing a framework for macroprudential supervision was a key lesson learned from the financial crisis that started in 2008.

The role of the FMSB

The FMSB was created to serve as a central policy discussion platform to support decision-making on the implementation of macroprudential supervision in Austria. The FMSB discusses systemic concerns, drawing on the expertise of the sending institutions, and may issue recommendations to the FMA or provide risk warnings.

Members of the FMSB

Alfred Lejsek, head of the Financial Markets Directorate of the Federal Ministry of Finance, serves as the FMSB chair. The deputy chair is Alfred Katterl, head of the ministry′s General Economic Policy Division. The alternate members are Beate Schaffer and Peter Part.

President Bernhard Felderer and Elisabeth Springler participate on behalf of the Fiscal Advisory Council, with Ulrich Schuh and Edith Kitzmantel serving as alternate members.

On the part of the FMA, Executive Board member Klaus Kumpfmüller sits on the FMSB, and Executive Board member Helmut Ettl is the alternate member.

Vice Governor Andreas Ittner is the representative of the OeNB. The alternate OeNB member is Philip Reading, who heads the OeNB′s Department for Financial Stability and the Supervision of Less Significant Institutions.