A key market enforcer has left the Swiss exchange suddenly, finews.com has learned. The departure, the second in a markets surveillance department in eight months, raises questions over the effectiveness of an insider trading push.
Lukas Feh, the Swiss exchange operator’s head of market supervision and investigation, is leaving his job, according to a memorandum seen by finews.com.
The departure, the second this year, is a blow to SIX. In regulatory circles, Feh is considered to be among several dozen people globally with extensive knowledge and years of experience with the specific technology used to spot potential insider trading by exchanges including SIX.
SIX confirmed the departure of Feh, who has been with the exchange operator for 13 years and run supervision and investigation for the past five. Feh couldn’t be reached for comment by finews.com.
Bereft of Expertise
His resignation becomes effective at year-end, according to a memo sent by SIX exchange regulation head Corinne Riguzzi (pictured below), but he will be dispatched from his job immediately «due to his central role».
The departure comes eight months after Riguzzi sacked Feh’s boss, Jared Bibler (pictured below). The investigator was well-known for his lead role probing wrong-doing in Iceland following the collapse of that country's financial sector in 2009, but lasted less than eight months at SIX due to «differing views of the role», as finews.com reported in February.
Feh’s as well as Bibler’s exit leaves the enforcement division bereft of leadership as well as technical expertise. SIX plans to replace Bibler in the market surveillance and enforcement job with Christian Mueller, currently head of surveillance at Credit Suisse, a source familiar with the matter told finews.com.
Major Insider Case
Riguzzi, who held the enforcement job for almost five years before her promotion to overall regulatory head at SIX two years ago, has been standing in for Bibler since his exit. A spokesman for SIX confirmed Mueller's hire, which becomes effective in October.
Last year, SIX's market enforcement division turned up one of the biggest cases of insider trading in Switzerland, against Swiss turnaround expert Hans Ziegler. The case sent shockwaves through Swiss financial circles: though Switzerland buttressed insider trading rules in 2009, enforcement has traditionally been lax.
