The Swiss financial regulator, FINMA, is demanding increased powers to publicly name and shame banks that violate its rules.

The call from chief executive Stefan Walter comes after criticism over FINMA's handling of the Credit Suisse collapse last year.

In an interview with NZZ newspaper, Walter stated: "Today, the publication of enforcement proceedings is the exception. In the future, non-communication should be the exception."

Walter said that he believes naming and shaming financial institutions would have a disciplinary effect if companies knew punishments would be made public.

The chief executive, who took up his post in April, emphasised the need for transparency, saying, "It also shows what the supervision achieves. The dilemma of every supervisory authority is: if something goes wrong, everyone knows. If something is prevented, no one knows."

The regulator wants banks to be more open and provide full information. If cooperation is lacking, FINMA could carry out more on-site inspections. Walter stated, "In extreme cases, you must have the option of holding individuals responsible and, if necessary, removing them." This would require a senior managers regime, where responsibility is assigned to individuals, making it easier to trace who was at fault.

In April, the Swiss government listed 22 recommendations to improve the regulation of the country's financial sector, including tougher capital requirements. UBS, which acquired Credit Suisse in a shotgun merger facilitated by the regulator, has already expressed concerns about potential changes, with chairman Colm Kelleher stating that a requirement to hold additional capital was the "wrong remedy."

Walter acknowledged UBS's concerns but maintained that sufficient capital was needed to reduce the risk and extent of a crisis in the future. He said: "The distribution of capital within the bank is also important, which is crucial in the stabilisation or resolution phase. The CS crisis has shown this."

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