Head of Swiss financial regulator’s Banks division quits

FINMA must look for new head of the Banks division Keystone-SDA

Thomas Hirschi, head of the Banks division of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA will leave at the end of August.

Hirschi will pursue a new career outside of FINMA, the regulator announced on Tuesday. According to a FINMA spokesperson, Simon Brönnimann, who is currently responsible for the Supervision of Small Banks and Securities Firms division, will now take over the management of the Banks division on an interim basis.

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Hirschi’s definitive successor will be announced at a later date.

Credit Suisse crisis

Hirschi, who is stepping down, took over responsibility for the Banks division at FINMA in February 2022. He was thus in charge of the division during the height of the Credit Suisse crisis. From October 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, he was also deputy to the then interim director Birgit Rutishauser.

Following the emergency takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS in spring 2023, Hirschi, together with the other FINMA management, vehemently defended the authority against critics: FINMA had intervened “early and resolutely” in the crisis-ridden big bank, he declared at the end of 2023 at the presentation of a FINMA report on the Credit Suisse crisis.

At the same time, under Hirschi’s leadership, the authority had merged and expanded the existing teams of the big bank supervisory authority. Last year, for example, Hirschi announced numerous on-site inspections at UBS, sometimes in collaboration with foreign regulatory authorities.

Long career with supervisory authorities

Prior to his role as head of the Banks division, Hirschi was head of the Asset Management division at FINMA from 2020 to 2022. He had already held various management positions at FINMA and its predecessor authority from 2004 to 2015.

From 2015 to 2019, Hirschi was head of Banking and Insurance Supervision at the Financial Market Authority Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

FINMA director Stefan Walter expressed regret at Hirschi’s departure and said that during Hirschi’s time as a member of the FINMA Executive Board, he had mastered major challenges and made a significant contribution to the stability of the financial centre.

Adapted from German by DeepL/ac

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