Oath or affirmation
The ‘financial sector oath or affirmation’ is a moral and ethical declaration that policymakers and a specific group of employees in a financial company are required to make. The oath or affirmation includes a declaration by the person concerned that they will, among other things, carry out their duties with care and integrity, put the client’s interests first and make every effort to promote and maintain confidence in the financial sector.
Oath or affirmation and the Banker's Oath
In addition to the financial sector oath or affirmation, there is also the long-standing ‘Banker’s Oath’. This goes further than the declaration for other financial companies. All bank staff must take this oath, or the corresponding affirmation.
For companies subject to supervision by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets, the rules concerning the oath or affirmation are set out in Section 4:9 of the Financial Supervision Act (Wft), Section 4:15a of the Wft and the Financial sector (oath or affirmation) Regulation 2015.
For companies for which De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) is the primary supervisory authority, such as banks and insurers, the rules concerning the oath or affirmation are set out in Sections 3:8 and 3:17c of the Wft and in the aforementioned Financial sector (oath or affirmation) Regulation 2015. This page provides more information about the rules that fall under the supervision of the AFM.
Supervision by the AFM and DNB
The AFM and DNB are both responsible for supervising the way in which financial companies have integrated the taking of and compliance with the oath or affirmation into their business operations. In principle, the primary supervisory authority (the financial supervisory authority that issued the licence) has final responsibility for supervision of the oath or affirmation. This means DNB has primary responsibility for supervising banks, while the AFM is responsible for supervising other financial companies.
Enforcement
There are three types of enforcement, relating to:
1. people undergoing a suitability test;
2. the financial company responsible for administering and complying with the oath or affirmation;
3. the individual employee, who must abide by their oath or affirmation.
If the oath or affirmation is not taken or not complied with, this could have consequences for the suitability and/or properness of internal supervisors or the persons in charge of day-to-day policy. The AFM and/or DNB may repeat the suitability test.
Under Section 4:15a(2) of the Wft, the financial company has primary responsibility for ensuring that the oath is taken and that employees who have taken it comply with it. If it fails to do so, the financial company is in violation of Section 4:15a of the Wft in terms of its ‘controlled business operations’, and the AFM may impose an enforcement measure or fine.
Supervision of compliance with the oath or affirmation by individual employees (that is, people who have not undergone a suitability test) does not fall under the responsibility of either the AFM or DNB. If an employee has taken the oath or affirmation and failed to comply with it, they may be dealt with under disciplinary law. For bank employees, action may be taken by the Foundation for Banking Ethics Enforcement, while for other employees, KiFid/the Financial Services Disciplinary Board may be the appropriate body.