On 19 January 2026, the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiële Markten, the AFM) released its supervisory agenda for 2026 (the AFM Agenda 2026), setting out the trends and risks it observes in the financial sector together with its supervisory priorities and key activities for the year ahead.
Key developments
The AFM Agenda 2026 identifies the following dominant forces shaping markets and supervision:
- digitalization;
- sustainability;
- internationalisation and EU regulations; and
- integrity/financial crime.
Against this backdrop, the AFM highlights rising geopolitical tensions, the growing influence of crypto and stablecoins, the increasing importance of private markets and the pressure that higher public debt places on sustainable growth and capital‑market stability.
Strategy
As in recent years, the AFM defines its strategy as risk‑based, data‑driven and results-oriented, anchored in its mission to promote fair and transparent markets and contribute to sustainable financial well‑being in the Netherlands.
In 2026, the AFM will focus on clear and careful communication around the pension transition, the responsible use of data and AI, stronger consumer protection in the credit market, and enhanced digital resilience. The AFM will also work to strengthen risk management among asset managers and combat fraud, money laundering and deception, including in the crypto market. These priorities form the foundation of the AFM’s supervisory agenda for 2026.
Priorities and key activities by area
The AFM defines the following priorities and key activities for financial market parties:
- Financial services
- The AFM maintains a strong focus on the pension transition, emphasizing the importance of informing participants in a timely manner what the transition means for them personally.
- The AFM will also develop an effective supervisory approach for new technologies, particularly AI.
- In the consumer‑credit market, the AFM will focus on licensing new financial companies falling within its supervision (such as credit service providers and Buy Now, Pay Later providers).
- Capital markets
- Priorities include strengthening operational and digital resilience. The AFM aims to ensure that market participants take concrete action to achieve robust digital and operational resilience.
- The AFM will also combat market abuse by carefully and thoroughly analysing unreliable information and AI-driven sources.
- Another priority is to identify and understand risks such as cyber threats and dependencies on dominant players at an early stage so the AFM can address them effectively.
- Asset management
- The AFM will focus on further improving the resilience of asset managers, for example by investigating how assets managers apply digital technology to protect themselves against cyberattacks.
- The AFM will also gain a better understanding of how asset managers use AI applications by a market-wide survey.
- The AFM is committed to ensuring fair and transparent sustainability information is being provided by asset managers.
AFM‑wide topics
Finally, the AFM defines certain supervisory topics that are broadly relevant:
- Combating criminal behaviour
- The AFM intends to tackle parties that facilitate investment fraud by strengthening cooperation with banks, implementing digital interventions and issuing warnings through awareness campaigns.
- The AFM will closely supervise crypto-asset service providers to protect investors from scams.
- The AFM is preparing for the new European AML package to combat money laundering and terrorist financing and is actively contributing to the development of new legislation and regulation by the new supervisor AMLA.
- Financial stability
- The AFM aims to ensure financial stability by means of risk detection and analysis, policy measures and structural reforms in asset management and capital markets, such as the pension transition.
The AFM Agenda 2026 is available here.