A member of the Governing Board of The Swiss National Bank is moving to Basel but will be working at a different institution.

Swiss National Bank (SNB) Governing Board member Andrea Maechler will leave the central bank at the end of June 2023 to become deputy general manager of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel starting in September, according to a statement from the SNB Monday evening.

Maechler has been a Governing Board member since July 2015 and heads the SNB's Department III with a broad remit responsible for money markets and foreign exchange, asset management, banking operations, and information technology. Her departure is a surprise since she was until recently heavily involved in areas such as digital central bank currency, cybersecurity, and cashless payments.

Was Disappointment a Factor?

Some SNB observers might conclude a certain level of disappointment may have played a role since Martin Schlegel was appointed SNB vice president to succeed Fritz Zurbruegg instead of Maechler, as finews.com reported.

As head of Department III, Maechler was entrusted with the operational implementation of the SNB's monetary policy. After a long period of negative interest rates and demand-driven foreign exchange market interventions, her task was to ensure the implementation of a monetary policy that functions efficiently in an environment of positive interest rates. Maechler also represents the SNB in various international bodies and chairs the Global Foreign Exchange Committee (GFXC).

Cyber Security

In operational banking and IT, Maechler promoted projects aimed at strengthening security against cyberattacks and increasing the resilience of Swiss financial market infrastructures.

In particular, she was responsible for the launch and commissioning of the Secure Swiss Finance Network (SSFN) communication network, developed in collaboration with third parties and based on ETH Zurich's SCION technology.

Innovative Experiments

Maechler also contributed to the further development of efficient, secure, and sustainable cashless payments, where the SNB created the framework conditions for payments to be processed in real-time and around the clock in the future.

Maechler also participated in the SNB's innovative digital central bank currency experiments, which are being conducted as part of the BIS Innovation Hub.