Training bank directors: FINMA's vision and lessons from ISFB

November 13, 2025

In the face of increasingly complex financial markets and a constantly evolving regulatory framework, the role of bank boards of directors has never been more crucial. Against this backdrop, the ISFB Certificate in Governance and Risk Management for Directors offers practical and strategic training, combining the expertise of working professionals with the unique experience of FINMA. Nezam Alexandre Bayat, lecturer and expert in banking enforcement, discusses the current issues, the challenges facing directors and the specific features of this unique program.

Nezam Alexandre Bayat, you have recently joined ISFB as a lecturer in the ISFB Certificate in Internal Control and Risk Management, and you will also be lecturing in the new Specialization Certificate for Bank Directors, offered in partnership with ACAD. What are your expectations and what approach will you adopt as a lecturer?

I believe that training and further education, particularly in the financial markets, are essential. The success and resilience of the Swiss financial center depend on well-trained and well-informed people. It is important to constantly and objectively assess one's knowledge and seek to enhance it. This is all the more the case in our field, where the legal and regulatory framework and requirements have become more precise, even more stringent, and are constantly evolving.

First of all, I hope to draw on my experience at FINMA to clarify how the latter implements prudential supervision and ensures that risks are correctly identified, assessed and controlled by the institutions subject to its jurisdiction, as well as the importance of the role and responsibilities of the Board of Directors. Examples will illustrate the way in which FINMA exercises its legal mandate, and the cases in which enforcement measures are necessary to apply supervisory law, as well as the possible consequences for the guarantee of irreproachable activity. I hope that the exchanges and sharing of experience will enable us all to enrich our knowledge, to better implement the legal requirements in this area on a daily basis, and to move beyond strict theory.

Can you tell us about your academic and professional background?

Originally from Lausanne, I studied law at the Universities of Fribourg and Durham (UK). I then completed my legal internship with a renowned law firm in Geneva. Keen to develop my knowledge of financial markets, I joined FINMA's Enforcement Division in 2012. Currently, I co-head the group in charge ofenforcement proceedings, in particular those concerning French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino.

My current role is unique and exciting. It allows me to be at the heart of the many issues and challenges facing the Swiss financial center. Since 2012, I have been a privileged witness to the evolution of the financial markets, the risks faced by banks and other institutions subject to FINMA, and the evolution of the legal and prudential framework. I am particularly interested in finding sustainable solutions that will help to maintain the confidence and long-term competitiveness of the Swiss financial center. I'm delighted to be able to share this experience and pass on my knowledge at ISFB.

What do you think are the main risk management challenges facing board members today?

The role of a member of the Board of Directors of an institution subject to FINMA, in particular a bank, requires great rigor, strategic vision, extensive knowledge of the financial markets and the legal and regulatory framework, as well as availability, an independent and critical spirit, and courage.

In my work at FINMA, I have repeatedly observed that the role and responsibilities of a member of the Board of Directors of a financial institution are sometimes misunderstood or underestimated. As the institution's supreme body, the Board of Directors can be held responsible for any shortcomings in the implementation of prudential requirements. Some of the cases examined showed that the shortcomings observed were avoidable, and could probably have been avoided if the Board of Directors had been involved in accordance with its role as senior management. Risk management and risk culture are ultimately the responsibility of the Board of Directors, as laid down in the regulatory framework. This task is essential to a company's smooth operation and long-term success. It is a day-to-day challenge that we must be fully aware of, and meet with all due diligence.

It goes without saying that every activity entails a risk. These must be identified, assessed and controlled. I'm convinced that with an appropriate risk management system, an adequate risk culture that is understood by all, and a strong involvement of the Board of Directors, business development is facilitated and sustained. In this respect, we also need to ensure the right balance in controls, since excess is just as undesirable as deficiencies. In an environment where risk management requirements have increased, where risks have multiplied and become more complex, the controls exercised by the Board of Directors are essential to a bank's success, and a challenge for those in charge of them, given the potentially high stakes and consequences.

The ISFB Certificate in Governance and Risk Management for Directors is scheduled for the first quarter of 2026. How does this program provide concrete solutions, and what, in your opinion, are the strengths and specific features that make it so rich and valuable?

In my opinion, the introduction of this program makes up for the lack of specific training in this field, and offers several advantages. The numerous training courses currently available for board members do not necessarily deal in sufficient depth with the duties and responsibilities incumbent on the governing bodies of financial institutions subject to FINMA, or with how these are translated in concreto.

Thanks to the expertise of practical specialists, this program raises participants' awareness of the essential role played by the Board of Directors in the good governance of a bank. The aim of this program is to provide a comprehensive overview, not only of best practices, but also of the prudential framework, enabling a concrete response to the challenges mentioned above. Through its approach, based on real-life experience, this program prepares participants to better face the challenges they are or will be confronted with as current or future members of a bank board of directors. In this respect, the exchanges that will take place in this context will be an opportunity to enrich the knowledge of both participants and speakers. It will consolidate the knowledge of existing board members, and better prepare those aspiring to occupy such positions by grasping the solid foundations and fundamental principles of diligent execution of a bank board mandate.

Nezam Alexandre Bayat

Co-HeadEnforcement proceedings (Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA)

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