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Erscheinung:10.03.2017, Stand:updated on 21.07.2021 | Topic BaFin Organisational Statute for the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Organisationsstatut für die Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht OsBaFin)

Most recently amended by the resolution adopted by the Executive Board of the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für FinanzdienstleistungsaufsichtBaFin) on 16 June 2021 in accordance with section 6 (1) of the Act Establishing the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Finanzdienstleistungsaufsichtsgesetz FinDAG)

Section 1 Overall responsibility and Sectors

(1) The members of the Executive Board share overall responsibility for managing BaFin within the scope of BaFin’s mandate as an integrated supervisory authority. The members of the Executive Board work together in a collegial and cooperative manner and inform one another regularly and in a timely fashion of all fundamental decisions and matters.

(2) BaFin’s statutory functions are performed by Sectors: Internal Administration and Legal Affairs, Banking Supervision, Insurance and Pension Funds Supervision, Securities Supervision/Asset Management, and Resolution and Prevention of Money Laundering. Each Sector is overseen operationally by one Chief Executive Director. The President oversees the following organisational units: the Directorate for International Policy, Financial Stability and Regulation; the Strategy, Risk and Innovation organisational unit; the President's Office; the Transformation Office; the Coordination of Focus Units and Task Force; the Internal Audit Office and the Directorate for Communications.

(3) The details are stipulated in the schedule of responsibilities (Geschäftsverteilungsplan).

Section 2 The President

(1) The President determines the strategic orientation of BaFin as an integrated financial services supervisor at a national and international level and takes decisions on matters of strategic significance. This includes determining BaFin’s communication strategy.

(2) The President is responsible for central management. This includes the following in particular:

  1. managing transformation processes of BaFin as an integrated financial services supervisor;
  2. monitoring market innovations;
  3. coordinating focus units and
  4. coordinating the task force.

(3) The President’s central management function is supported by objective-based dialogues that are held on a regular basis between the Federal Ministry of Finance (Bundesministerium der Finanzen – BMF) and BaFin and, within BaFin, between the President and the Chief Executive Directors. The procedure, the frequency and the documentation of such dialogues are laid down with binding force in a separate concept.

(4) The President can issue instructions to the Chief Executive Directors on an individual basis and take charge of matters that pertain to their Sectors. In these cases, the operational responsibility for such matters also lies with the President. The President’s guidelines and decisions are binding for the other Executive Board members, who are independently responsible for implementing them within their Sectors.

(5) The President prepares the BaFin budget plan and defines how staff and resources should be used.

(6) The President keeps the Administrative Council informed of BaFin’s management activities.

(7) The President is the supreme official authority (oberste Dienstbehörde) for BaFin’s employees. The BMF is the supreme official authority for the President and the Chief Executive Directors.

(8) The President acts as the supervisor (Dienstvorgesetzter) of BaFin’s employees and, unless a special rule applies, takes decisions concerning all staff matters. He or she may delegate such decisions to the Chief Executive Director of the Sector for Internal Administration and Legal Affairs, either as a general rule or on an individual basis. Staff matters are handled by the Sector for Internal Administration and Legal Affairs.

(9) The President is head of the authority within the meaning of section 8 of the Federal Personnel Representation Act (Bundespersonalvertretungsgesetz – BPersVG); the Chief Executive Director of Internal Administration and Legal Affairs deputises for the President in this respect. Where the President acts in his or her capacity as the supreme official authority or by virtue of a special statutory power, he or she acts as head of the authority within the meaning of section 8 of the BPersVG.

(10) BaFin officers that have been formally appointed or elected for a particular field of activity (e.g. Budget Officer, Data Protection Officer, Gender Equality Officer) on the basis of legal or administrative requirements are directly subordinate to the President as the head of the authority. In such cases, the Chief Executive Director of Internal Administration and Legal Affairs deputises for the President. This rule does not apply to the Investor and Consumer Protection Officer.

(11) If the President is unable to perform his or her functions, the Deputy President deputises for him or her. If the Deputy President is also unable to perform his or her functions, authority to deputise for the President is passed on to the Chief Executive Director who has served on BaFin’s Executive Board for the longest period of time.

Section 3 Chief Executive Directors

(1) The Chief Executive Directors are individually responsible for managing their Sectors; they take all decisions pertaining to the operational activities of their Sectors in line with the guidelines and decisions of the President.

(2) The Chief Executive Directors inform the President in a timely manner of all matters that may be of strategic significance or have a major impact, political or otherwise, on BaFin’s performance of its supervisory duties or on its reputation. The Executive Director of the Sector for Internal Administration and Legal Affairs is the standard-setter for all organisational, staff and budget activities; he or she supports the President in drawing up the budget and determining how staff and resources should be used.

(3) Where the affairs of one Sector also fall within the competence of at least one other Sector, an agreement must be reached with the other Sector(s). The foregoing does not affect the provisions of the BaFin Rules of Procedure concerning the involvement of other organisational units.

(4) The Chief Executive Directors report to the Administrative Council on material developments within their fields of activity.

Section 4 The Executive Board

(1) The Executive Board consists of the President and the Chief Executive Directors. The Executive Board adopts rules of procedure for itself.

(2) The Chief Executive Directors mutually deputise for one another as regards the exercising of voting rights. The Deputy President deputises for the President as regards exercising the President’s voting right.

(3) The Executive Board advises the President on strategic issues and matters regarding BaFin’s central management.

(4) The President confers with the other members of the Executive Board before drawing up the budget and wherever changes are to be made to the allocation of responsibilities to the individual Sectors.

(5) The Executive Board adopts resolutions on the following matters:

  1. differences of opinion between the members of the Executive Board where no agreement as referred to in section 3 (3) can be reached;
  2. amendments to be made to BaFin’s Rules of Procedure (Geschäftsordnung der BaFin);
  3. amendments to be made to this Organisational Statute and
  4. the adoption of administrative rules applicable across all Sectors that will regulate BaFin’s administrative practice (supervisory practices).

In cases of resolutions as referred to in sentence 1 no. 3 above, the President may not be outvoted.

(6) Each member of the Executive Board may bring up supervisory issues for discussion in the joint sessions.

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