Norway’s Financial Watchdog Sharpens Market Abuse Enforcement While Expanding Sustainability Oversight in 2025

Key Takeaways

• Market Abuse Enforcement Remains Active: Finanstilsynet issued multiple fines tied to insider dealing, market manipulation and short selling, including a $5.27 million (NOK 50 million) bond-related manipulation case.
• Surveillance Capabilities Expanded: A new market monitoring system now gives the regulator access to all orders and trades on Euronext Oslo Børs.
• Disclosure Oversight Shifted: Supervision of ongoing disclosure requirements moved from Oslo Børs to Finanstilsynet in April 2025.
• Sustainability Reporting Under Scrutiny: The regulator conducted thematic reviews of eight companies and identified weaknesses in greenhouse gas and workforce disclosures.
• Financial Reporting Errors Triggered First-of-Its-Kind Fine: Finanstilsynet imposed its first administrative fine for material financial reporting errors.

Deep Dive

Norway’s financial watchdog has laid out a year of active enforcement, expanding surveillance and deeper scrutiny of sustainability reporting in its 2025 supervisory reports.

The documents, published this week by Finanstilsynet, provide a detailed account of inspections, market monitoring, licensing matters and regulatory development across the financial sector. They also address broader themes such as anti-money laundering, crypto-asset supervision, European cooperation, digital resilience and risk monitoring in both Norwegian and international markets.

A full annual report covering governance, key figures and financial accounts is expected in April or May. But the supervisory summaries themselves already paint a clear picture of where enforcement energy was concentrated last year.

Market Conduct Enforcement Accelerates

At the center of the regulator’s work were the core rules designed to protect investors and maintain orderly markets, insider dealing prohibitions, market manipulation bans, disclosure duties and short selling controls.

Much of the watchdog’s casework stemmed from mandatory reporting. In 2025, Finanstilsynet received 219 reports from investment firms and marketplaces concerning transactions suspected of insider dealing or market manipulation. It also received 85 reports from foreign supervisory authorities. Additional cases were initiated internally.

Administrative penalties followed in several areas. The authority imposed six fines for violations of the disclosure requirement for large shareholdings and one fine for breaching notification obligations applicable to primary insiders.

At the same time, Finanstilsynet strengthened its technical toolkit. As part of new supervisory tasks, it acquired a market surveillance system that provides access to data on all orders placed and trades executed on Euronext Oslo Børs. The system includes analytical tools designed to detect potential breaches of conduct rules.

Short Selling and Market Manipulation Cases

Short selling enforcement produced tangible penalties. Investors whose short positions exceed prescribed thresholds must report them to Finanstilsynet, and those positions are published in the Short Sale Register.

In 2025, the authority fined one undertaking $368,662 (NOK 3.5 million) for violating the ban on uncovered short sales. Another undertaking was fined $14,746 (NOK 140,000) for breaching the reporting obligation.

On insider dealing and market manipulation, the regulator reported six cases of suspected insider dealing or unlawful disclosure of inside information to the prosecuting authority, along with one case of suspected market manipulation.

Several administrative sanctions stood out. Finanstilsynet imposed a fine of $5,266,600 (NOK 50 million) on an undertaking for market manipulation related to the issuance of a government bond. An individual received a fine of $315,996 (NOK 3 million) for own-account “wash trades.” Another individual was fined $52,666 (NOK 500,000) after publishing a price-sensitive buy recommendation and then immediately selling shares at a substantial profit.

The regulator also imposed a fine of $1,053,320 (NOK 10 million) on an undertaking for unlawful disclosure of inside information in connection with so-called “pre-close calls.”

Disclosure Oversight Shifts To Finanstilsynet

One structural change reshaped disclosure supervision during the year. From 1 April 2025, oversight of disclosure and delayed disclosure of inside information transferred from Oslo Børs to Finanstilsynet.

To support the transition, the regulator developed a notification solution within the Altinn portal, requiring issuers to send disclosures immediately after publication. In 2025, Finanstilsynet imposed a fine of $31,600 (NOK 300,000) for breaching the ongoing disclosure requirement.

On the regulatory front, the authority also prepared a draft consultation document at the request of the Ministry of Finance proposing legislative amendments that would authorize it to impose administrative fines for breaches of the prohibition on insider dealing. The matter is currently under consideration by the Ministry.

Financial Reporting and Sustainability Reviews Deepen

Beyond market abuse enforcement, Finanstilsynet continued its financial reporting oversight work, emphasizing the importance of reliable reporting for investor confidence.

The regulator reviewed all or parts of the annual or interim financial statements of 15 entities in 2025. While its primary focus was on issuers of shares and equity certificates, some bond issuers were also examined. It also followed up on financial reporting deadlines.

Sustainability reporting received targeted attention. Two thematic reviews covered eight companies and focused in particular on disclosures relating to greenhouse gas emissions and companies’ own workforce. The regulator reported weaknesses in reporting practices.

Finanstilsynet also contributed to a European-level report under the auspices of the European Securities and Markets Authority addressing double materiality assessments and reviewing sustainability reporting from five Norwegian companies.

Across its financial reporting reviews, the authority identified material deviations including incorrect application of accounting principles, incomplete disclosures, issues tied to recoverable amounts, fair value measurement disclosures, recognition and measurement of goodwill and intangible assets, climate risk disclosures and deviations from guidance on alternative performance measures.

In most cases, companies corrected issues during the review process. Some complied only after receiving notice of an intended decision. In one case, Finanstilsynet imposed an administrative fine for material reporting errors, marking the first time this type of reaction was applied for such a breach. It also imposed administrative fines on six companies for late reporting.

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