German Stefan Walter joins Finma in wake of Credit Suisse's collapse
24 January 2024 - 16:54
byNoele Illien and John Revill
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The European Central Bank's headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, March 16 2023. Picture: HEIKO BECKER/REUTERS
Zurich — Switzerland’s financial regulator has appointed a supervisor from the European Central Bank (ECB) as its new CEO, putting him in charge of overseeing banking giant UBS following its rescue of rival Credit Suisse.
German Stefan Walter joins Finma after its failure to avert the largest banking collapse since the global financial crisis fifteen years ago.
Finma has defended its role and top of Walters’ in-tray will be the regulator’s call for stronger powers to oversee lenders in future. He will also face a Swiss media which has accused Finma of being too cautious.
UBS' purchase of Credit Suisse created a banking behemoth with a balance sheet almost twice the size of Switzerland's economy.
The appointment of Walter, who has rarely spoken in public, follows the resignation in September of Urban Angehrn, who quit for health reasons, citing the high and permanent stress level during his tenure.
Finma in December published a report defending its handling of Switzerland’s former number two bank, saying it took “far reaching and invasive” measures and exhausted the full range of tools it had available.
Bank Vontobel analyst Andreas Venditti said Walter was clearly experienced in banking regulation but that it was difficult to judge whether he might bring change.
At the ECB Walter held positions in risk supervision of eurozone banks as well as systemic bank supervision He will leave the central bank at the end of January, according to an ECB spokesperson.
He previously worked as a principle at EY in New York and before that in banking supervision at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel.
The new CEO will also have to deal with the ongoing fallout over Finma’s decision to write off Sf16bn ($18.50bn) of Credit Suisse’s Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds — a controversial move that has triggered legal cases against the regulator.
Former CEO Angehrn’s exit was one of a recent spate of resignations at Finma, chaired by Marlene Amstad.
Amstad praised Walter’s experience, “particularly his knowledge in the area of large bank supervision and his links to international supervisory authorities” as a great asset for Finma’s supervision of the systemically important Swiss banks.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Swiss regulator poaches ECB veteran as new CEO
German Stefan Walter joins Finma in wake of Credit Suisse's collapse
Zurich — Switzerland’s financial regulator has appointed a supervisor from the European Central Bank (ECB) as its new CEO, putting him in charge of overseeing banking giant UBS following its rescue of rival Credit Suisse.
German Stefan Walter joins Finma after its failure to avert the largest banking collapse since the global financial crisis fifteen years ago.
Finma has defended its role and top of Walters’ in-tray will be the regulator’s call for stronger powers to oversee lenders in future. He will also face a Swiss media which has accused Finma of being too cautious.
UBS' purchase of Credit Suisse created a banking behemoth with a balance sheet almost twice the size of Switzerland's economy.
The appointment of Walter, who has rarely spoken in public, follows the resignation in September of Urban Angehrn, who quit for health reasons, citing the high and permanent stress level during his tenure.
Finma in December published a report defending its handling of Switzerland’s former number two bank, saying it took “far reaching and invasive” measures and exhausted the full range of tools it had available.
Bank Vontobel analyst Andreas Venditti said Walter was clearly experienced in banking regulation but that it was difficult to judge whether he might bring change.
At the ECB Walter held positions in risk supervision of eurozone banks as well as systemic bank supervision He will leave the central bank at the end of January, according to an ECB spokesperson.
He previously worked as a principle at EY in New York and before that in banking supervision at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel.
The new CEO will also have to deal with the ongoing fallout over Finma’s decision to write off Sf16bn ($18.50bn) of Credit Suisse’s Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds — a controversial move that has triggered legal cases against the regulator.
Former CEO Angehrn’s exit was one of a recent spate of resignations at Finma, chaired by Marlene Amstad.
Amstad praised Walter’s experience, “particularly his knowledge in the area of large bank supervision and his links to international supervisory authorities” as a great asset for Finma’s supervision of the systemically important Swiss banks.
Reuters
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