In 2025, the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) received 306 whistleblowers’ reports, which is up by 12% over the previous year and more than twice the number of reports received in 2022. Reports submitted via the Whistleblowers’ point of contact, as well as complaints filed via the channel specific to the banker’s oath (available in French - Dutch only), help the FSMA detect infringements at an early stage and enable the FSMA, where applicable, to take measures against inappropriate conduct. The FSMA also received 4,674 consumer reports in 2025, mostly relating to unlawful or fraudulent offers.
Whistleblowers play an important role in detecting infringements of financial legislation
Since 2017, the FSMA has had a channel for persons wishing to report possible infringements of the financial legislation and regulations with which the FSMA supervises compliance. The reports received are treated with particular care, to ensure that anonymity and confidentiality are guaranteed.
The FSMA received 139 reports via that channel in 2022, 238 in 2023, 274 in 2024 and 306 in 2025.
These reports concern a wide range of tasks carried out by the FSMA (supervision of financial products, surveillance of financial markets and supervision of information disseminated by companies, supervision of conduct of business rules, supervision of financial service providers and intermediaries, supervision of supplementary pensions, unlawful activity, etc.). These reports are important to the supervision conducted by the FSMA. Some of them give rise to investigations and may lead to the imposition of sanctions.
The new banker’s oath regime further strengthens the protection of financial consumers
Recently, the banker’s oath regime was introduced to strengthen the existing legislation and regulations, holding bankers personally responsible for their actions. It imposes individual rules of conduct on bankers, placing the emphasis on the principles of integrity, professionalism and the fair treatment of customers. These rules also apply to persons subject to fit and proper requirements and to managers responsible, crucial in order to guarantee bankers’ ethics and integrity.
The banker’s oath regime applies to about 30,000 people in Belgium. It is accompanied by potential disciplinary sanctions, such as a ban on carrying out professional activities for up to three years. To guarantee the efficacy of this type of sanction, any applicant for a position as banker must have a certificate from the FSMA confirming that they are not subject to a professional ban. A specific channel for complaints has been set up.
Currently, more than 500 people who hold managerial positions have taken the banker’s oath at the FSMA, and 3,350 people took the oath at their credit institution.
The channels are complementary and useful
These channels are particularly useful. They are not intended to enable complainants to obtain individual compensation, but to lead to solutions to problems that are important for all financial consumers. The channels are therefore a priority for the FSMA.
The various channels are complementary. The complaint channel specific to the banker’s oath is intended to receive complaints about disciplinary issues on the part of bankers, whereas the Whistleblowers’ point of contact is for infringements of any other financial legislation and regulations with which the FSMA supervises compliance.
The information received by the FSMA through either channel is protected by the FSMA’s obligation of confidentiality. Complaints relating to the banker’s oath give rise to investigations that consider both the charges and the defence, ensuring that the right to self-defence is respected.
More and more people are turning to the FSMA
In addition, an increasing number of consumers have been contacting the FSMA to ask questions, request certain types of information or report cases of fraud.
In 2025, the FSMA received 4,674 consumer reports, which is three times higher than in 2016 and 13% higher than in 2024. This increase has been continuing year on year.
A majority of the reports submitted to the FSMA concern unlawful or fraudulent offers. In 2025, the FSMA received an average of 273 reports every month relating to these matters. In addition, an increasing number of consumers have been turning to the FSMA before investing money, to check if their interlocutor is trustworthy. This is the best way to avoid falling victim to fraud. Since April 2025, the FSMA has blocked 245 fraudulent domain names via the Belgian Anti-Phishing Shield (BAPS), thereby preventing consumers from consulting a fraudulent website a total of 22,973 times.
Jean-Paul Servais, Chairman of the FSMA: 'The fact that a steadily increasing number of people are contacting the FSMA is a positive trend. This indicates, first, that the FSMA is becoming ever better known and is recognized as a trusted interlocutor: consumers are more and more likely to contact it when they have a question about a financial matter or before investing money, to check if their provider is trustworthy. This is the best way to prevent falling victim to fraud. Furthermore, for a modern and agile supervisory authority, it is crucial to listen both to members of the financial sector and to the public at large. In this way, the FSMA is better able to have the finger on the pulse of the Belgian financial sector and to detect, as early as possible, important signals that may require it to act quickly and effectively.'
The FSMA offers various access points through which it can be contacted
Below are the specific contact channels provided by the FSMA:
- Whistleblowers’ point of contact
- Channel for complaints relating to the banker’s oath (available in French - Dutch only)
- Channel for questions relating to investment fraud and credit fraud
- General consumer contact form
- Contact form for professionals