The Federal Council appoints Monica Mächler and Daniel Zuberbühler to FINMA's board of directors
Bern, 21.05.2008 - With the appointment of Monica Mächler, currently Director of the Federal Office of Private Insurance (FOPI), and Daniel Zuberbühler, Director of the Swiss Federal Banking Commission (SFBC), the Federal Council has today raised the number of members on the board of the Federal Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) by two, thereby bringing it to its full strength of nine members in readiness for 1 January 2009. Seven board members had already been appointed by the Federal Council on 16 January 2008 and have been in office since 1 February. The term of office for all nine board members ends on 31 December 2011.
Following the Federal Council's approval today of the appointment of Patrick Raaflaub as Director of FINMA (cf. FINMA announcement), the conditions were in place to make two additional appointments to FINMA's board of directors. The Federal Council gave notice of this intention in January (cf. press release dated 16 January 2008).
The Federal Council also made these appointments today. In order to ensure a smooth transition and to support the Director during FINMA's establishment phase, two Vice President posts will be created for the period between 2009 and the end of 2011. These posts will be filled by the freshly appointed members, Monica Mächler (1956) and Daniel Zuberbühler (1948). The FINMA Vice President for 2008, Peter V. Eckert, will step down from this function as of 31 December 2008. Mrs. Mächler and Mr. Zuberbühler will continue in their positions as directors up to the end of 2008. Responsibility for supervisory matters will remain with the FOPI and the SFBC until the end of the year.
The Federal Council explicitly considers the creation of two Vice President posts to be a temporary solution which does not imply an additional level of hierarchy. In accordance with the principles of good governance, the President and the two Vice Presidents do not constitute a unit on the board of directors and the Vice Presidents have no pre-advisory function.
The provisions outlined in the nomination ruling of 16 January 2008 for the members of the board apply to both Vice Presidents. As such they are each entitled to an annual allowance of CHF 100,000. This covers the normal tasks of a Vice President of FINMA's board of directors (workload approximately 35%; roughly 15 meeting days).
It is also envisaged that both Vice Presidents will participate in the delegations to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) and die International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) until further notice. The Federal Council is thereby giving particular consideration to the global integration of the financial markets and to the international dimension of financial market supervision. This measure is also intended to ensure continuity in these bodies and relieve FINMA's executive board so that it can focus its attention in the first few years on the upcoming operational changes. Should additional temporary or special tasks arise in this transitional phase, which can be carried out by the Vice Presidents, these will be covered on a separate consultative basis and be remunerated accordingly.
FINMA Board of Directors
The Financial Market Supervision Act (FINMAG) provides for the merger of the Swiss Federal Banking Commission (SFBC), the Federal Office of Private Insurance (FOPI) and the Anti-Money Laundering Control Authority (AMLCA) into a single authority operating under the name of FINMA as an independent institution under public law. With the partial entry into force of the law on 1 February 2008, FINMA acquired its own legal personality and is thus able to act on its own initiative, which is a requirement for developing the new authority. Switzerland's new integrated financial market supervisory authority will commence business in earnest when FINMAG enters into force in full on 1 January 2009.
FINMA's board of directors is in charge of the strategic goals of the authority on behalf of the Federal Council, takes decisions on matters with wide-reaching implications, issues ordinances delegated to FINMA, decides on circulars, oversees the executive board and attends to internal controls. In addition, it takes decisions concerning the appointment of the authority's Director, subject to the approval of the Federal Council.
In accordance with the law, the FINMA board of directors should consist of seven to nine members. The Federal Assembly has specified that in selecting the board members, there should be an appropriate representation of both sexes. Under Art. 11 para. 2 FINMAG, the Federal Council should also ensure that the various specialist fields are appropriately represented on the board. The FINMA board should therefore cover the specialist fields concerned such as banking, insurance, collective capital investments, stock exchanges, self-regulating organisations in accordance with the Anti-Money Laundering Act, etc. Finally, the board should also include audit specialists in the fields under supervision and representatives from the academic world.
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Delphine Jaccard, Press Officer, tel. 031 324 14 07
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Federal Department of Finance
https://www.efd.admin.ch/efd/en/home.html
Federal Department of Finance
https://www.efd.admin.ch/efd/en/home.html
