The former UBS banker has been filling in as interim CEO since January 2014
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For the first time ever, a foreign national has been named to head the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). Mark Branson, a British citizen, has been interim CEO since the resignation of Patrick Raaflaub at the end of January.
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The government confirmed the appointment on Wednesday.
Branson, who joined the board of FINMA in 2010 and later became deputy CEO, was previously a senior executive at Switzerland’s biggest bank, UBS.
In 2009 he testified in front of the United States Senate on behalf of the bank and apologised for the part it had played in assisting US tax evaders.
Between 2006-2008, Branson led UBS’s Japanese securities unit, which in 2012 was revealed to have been involved in rate manipulation as part of the Libor rate rigging scandal.
UBS had to pay a large fine for its part in trying to rig the rate – which affects trillions of loan contracts around the world – in a move to boost trading profits.
The revelation led to public criticism of Branson’s position at FINMA, both from politicians and in the media, but Raaflaub defended him, saying investigations showed Branson was not involved.
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Deputy Chief Executive Branson, who may be proposed to replace CEO Patrick Raaflaub at Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA permanently, is well acquainted with financial matters. But his nomination as permanent successor would draw criticism, not only because he is a British national, but explicitly because of his experience. Branson was head of a…
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Raaflaub has worked for the supervisory authority since its 2009 launch, overseeing the task of merging the Swiss Federal Banking Commission, the Federal Office of Private Insurance and the Anti-Money Laundering Control Authority into one organisation. He also headed FINMA following the global financial crisis, leading the oversight of UBS and Credit Suisse in its…
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On a black day for Switzerland’s biggest bank, UBS announced on Wednesday its branch in Japan had entered a plea to one count of wire fraud relating to the manipulation of benchmark interest rates, including the Yen Libor. The Libor interest rate, short for London interbank offered rate, is used to price financial contracts around…
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