General

Sara Mella continues as Chair of Finance Finland’s Board ‒ “Quality regulation cultivates trust”

MARJO LAPATTO

Chair of Finance Finland's Board Sara Mella commends the European Commission for coming to realise the problems of excessive regulation.
  • The amount of regulation should be controlled, but it is also important to focus on improving the quality of regulation and conducting impact assessments prior to adoption, reminds Nordea’s Sara Mella, who continues as Chair of the Board for a second term.
  • Timo Ritakallio from OP Financial Group was appointed as Vice Chair. The Board began its term at the start of 2025.
  • The priorities for the Board’s work and the agenda for its meetings will in the future be prepared by a working committee appointed by the Board.

After the financial crisis, both national and EU policymakers have been quick to resort to enacting new regulation as a way of addressing any problems in the financial sector. In their haste to act, they have not stopped to consider whether other options and solutions could have been more effective.

Reappointed for a second term as Chair of Finance Finland’s Board, Nordea’s Sara Mella commends the European Commission for coming to realise the problems of excessive regulation and taking steps to address the issue. In Finland, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government has already acknowledged in its programme that simply increasing the amount of regulation will not automatically benefit society.

“The amount of regulation should be controlled, but it is also important to focus on improving the quality of regulation and conducting impact assessments prior to adoption. The full impact of legislation emerges from a complex chain of events. Comprehensive and carefully conducted impact assessment ensures that regulation can achieve its aims without unpredictable and undesirable consequences”, Mella emphasises.

Financial sector regulation is typically very detailed and can be based on multiple different laws. Mella points out that these laws have often been prepared in different times and for different purposes.

“A good example of regulation that fell short of its mark is the Retail Investment Strategy (RIS), which contains overlapping and contradicting requirements for service providers. These increase costs for customers and uncertainty in investing in general.”

According to Mella, appropriately targeted high-quality regulation cultivates trust between financial sector companies and their customers. “When the sector enjoys the trust of its customers, its operations are also generally regarded as fair and equitable”, she says.

Finance Finland gets new Board of Directors

Finance Finland’s new Board began its term at the start of 2025. Sara Mella, Head of Personal Banking in the Nordic region at Nordea, was reappointed as Chair for a second term. President and Group CEO of OP Financial Group Timo Ritakallio was appointed as Vice Chair.

Board members’ terms of office were shortened from two years to one year. The Chair’s term of office is still two years.

From now on, the Board will also appoint a working committee from among its members. The working committee is tasked with preparing the priorities for the Board’s work and the agenda for its meetings.

Finance Finland’s Board of Directors 2025

Sara Mella, Nordea – Chair
Timo Ritakallio, OP Financial Group – Vice Chair
Aleksi Lehtonen, Aktia Group
Jens Wiklund, Danske Bank Group
Mika Manninen, Fennia Group
Jouko Pölönen, Ilmarinen
Jari Eklund, LocalTapiola Group
Petri Niemisvirta, Mandatum
Ville Talasmäki, Sampo Group
Riikka Laine-Tolonen, S-Bank Group
Kai Koskela, Savings Bank Group
Risto Murto, Varma