Estonian Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority

About EFSA

Finantsinspektsioon, officially known in English as the Estonian Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority, is Estonia’s independent financial supervisory and crisis-resolution authority. It began operations on 1 January 2002 after the consolidation of banking, insurance and securities supervision into a single national authority. Finantsinspektsioon acts on behalf of the Estonian state but has autonomous responsibilities, an independent decision-making structure and its own supervisory budget. Its activities are primarily funded through supervision and procedure fees paid by regulated financial institutions. The authority supervises banks, insurance companies, insurance intermediaries, investment firms, fund managers, investment and pension funds, payment institutions, electronic money institutions, creditors, credit intermediaries, crowdfunding service providers, securities markets and regulated crypto-asset service providers. For forex, CFD and other investment services, Finantsinspektsioon authorises and supervises investment firms established in Estonia and maintains information about EEA firms permitted to provide services in Estonia through branches or cross-border passporting arrangements. Supervised firms must comply with applicable Estonian and European requirements relating to capital, governance, client assets, conduct of business, disclosure and investor protection. Finantsinspektsioon also carries out enforcement, anti-money-laundering supervision, financial-sector crisis resolution and cooperation with European supervisory institutions. It publishes registers of supervised entities and warnings concerning unauthorised financial service providers. A consumer should first raise a dispute directly with the relevant financial institution. If the matter is not resolved or the explanation is insufficient, the consumer may submit a complaint to Finantsinspektsioon for independent guidance and supervisory assessment. Individual compensation claims may still require a dispute-resolution body or court process.