Finland: Capital Adequacy/BASEL

Amendments effective as of 1 July 2005 have been introduced in the Finnish Securities Markets Act, Act on Financial Supervision, and certain other acts (HE 137/2004).

Retail banking main processes; Payment, Deposit, and Loan process are rapidly moving from branchesto the Internet. This retail banking transformation - from branches to online banking – is an Universal phenomenon. Annually, the shift from paper-based payments to electronic payments formed in Europe on the average 5% from the total volume of cashless payment transfers in 1997 – 2001.

The Finnish regulatory framework for corporate governance and directors’ duties is governed by the following three Acts: the Companies Act, the Securities Markets Act and the Accounting Act.