Martin Scholl (pictured below) is due to hand over at Zurich's cantonal bank on September 1 to Urs Baumann – the first outsider to run Switzerland's largest local government-backed lender in 150 years. Baumann, who previously ran Bank am Bellevue and credit card firm Swisscard, sees himself as a subtle change-maker: «Among my goals are that Zuercher Kantonalbank is the most appreciated, respected bank in Switzerland,» he told finews.com in October.
6. Room For Next-Generation Policymakers
This year marked the end of an era at Switzerland's central bank, when Fritz Zurbruegg (pictured at left below) disclosed his plans to retire mid-2022. The Swiss National Bank's council needs to find a successor for the 61-year-old, in a search process that is viewed as a preview of the central bank's next director: presidentThomas Jordan's current term expires in 2027.
(SNB directors, from left, Fritz Zurbruegg, Thomas Jordan, and Andréa Maechler)
7: Finma: Between Tough And Toothless
The departure of Switzerland's top banking regulator Mark Branson (pictured below) came as a surprise: the British-Swiss ex-banker who had led Finma opted for the top job at Bafin – German's financial regulator – after a long courtship by Berlin.
Branson's tenure at Finma was marked by tension with the banks and insurers it oversees: Branson was an early warner of money laundering and financial scandals. In the regulation of them, Finma wavered between a tough line and toothlessness. The regulator made international headlines for a progressive approach to fintech business models – an approach that Branson's successor, ex-Zurich Insurance executive Urban Angehrn could continue.
8. Crypto's Pirate Hands Over The Keys
Niklas Nikolajsen (pictured below) counts as an early evangelist of using digital coins as an alternative to central bank-steered currency. The self-styled «crypto pirate» has moved successively closer to the financial establishment, though Finma signaled it would deny Bitcoin Suisse a banking license early this year.
The Danish native – who has added «von Karlshof» to his last name after adopting a family seat in Switzerland – has had a bumper year at the start-up he co-founded in 2013. His resignation as chairman and handover to associateLuzius Meisser as well as CEO Arthur Vayloyan is a surprise. A father of two, Nikolajsen remains a sizeable shareholder, adviser, and honorary chairman of Bitcoin Suisse.
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