The head of Switzerland's finance regulator is starting in the job. He will recuse himself from business with his former employer, Zurich Insurance, and look at what «change» means for industry supervisors.
Urban Angehrn is starting his job as CEO of Finma, on Monday, the Swiss financial overseer said in a statement on Monday. A 56-year-old Swiss mathematician, Angehrn replaces Mark Branson, who in March surprised Swiss finance with his departure for Bafin, Finma's counterpart in Germay.
The arrival of Angehrn, who worked for Credit Suisse's First Boston investment bank early in his career, marks the end of Jan Bloechliger's tenure as temporary CEO. Bloechliger will return to his previous role supervising banks and remain a member of Finma's nine-person top management.
Change, With Open Mind
Multi-faceted challenges await Finma, which had enjoyed a seven-year period of relative calm under Branson's leadership. On Monday, Chair Marlene Amstad listed digitization and sustainability as two key opportunities and challenges.
Angehrn will recuse himself from regulatory dealings with Zurich Insurance, where he has worked for the past 14 years, until next October. It isn't clear what accents he will set, but Angehrn said he plans to look closely at the topic of change in the sector, «actively accompanying this with an open mind as a supervisory authority».
