SNB to Hire Finma’s Head of UBS Oversight for Senior Role

(Bloomberg) — The Swiss National Bank has tapped Michael Waldburger from the country’s financial watchdog Finma in a rare move between the two institutions.

The veteran regulator — who worked at Finma for more than a decade and most recently was the lead supervisor of Switzerland’s biggest bank, UBS Group AG — is joining the SNB to become its head of financial stability in June, according to the central bank. 

Waldburger will take over from Bertrand Rime, who is joining the Bank for International Settlements, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Contacted by Bloomberg, Finma thanked Waldburger for his many years of service. The BIS didn’t immediately return requests for comment. Waldburger and Rime didn’t respond when contacted via LinkedIn. 

The Swiss regulatory system has a dual structure, with Finma focusing on capital requirements, while the SNB deals with the liquidity of financial institutions. That setup has been under particular scrutiny because of the collapse of Credit Suisse in 2023. 

Finma took the brunt of the blame because it had granted Credit Suisse a relief from capital requirements, known as the “capital filter,” which ultimately contributed to the failure of the bank and its forced takeover by UBS. At the same time, the SNB came out of the Credit-Suisse situation relatively unscathed.

In response to the crisis, Finma started a revamp, which include the hiring of Stefan Walter as its new chief. The German’s approach toward bank supervision is seen as much more forceful than that of his predecessors. Just this week, Finma announced internal changes that will allow it to carry out more of its own on-site reviews of financial firms. It also said that Walter’s deputy, Birgit Rutishauser, is leaving at the end of the month. 

(Updates with Finma comment in fourth paragraph)

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