Swiss central bank to elect new chief soon

The Swiss National Bank‘s (SNB) supervisory board is nearing a decision on its nominee to succeed Chairman Thomas Jordan, who will step down in September after a 12-year tenure marked by challenges such as the collapse of Credit Suisse, sources told Reuters on Monday on condition of anonymity.

During his tenure, Jordan also faced a significant appreciation of the Swiss franc.

Two sources indicated that the selection process for one of central banking’s highest-paid positions of a compensation package up to 1.3 million Swiss francs ($1.5 million) last year—is nearly complete, with interviews already conducted.

The Bank Council, responsible for nominating the candidate to the Swiss cabinet for approval, has not commented on the ongoing process.

Martin Schlegel, current Vice Chairman of the SNB, is widely regarded as the frontrunner for the position, with 16 out of 18 economists polled by Reuters predicting his appointment.

Schlegel, 47, has been with the SNB since 2003 and has deep expertise in Swiss financial markets.

“Schlegel is seen as the leading candidate,” noted Stefan Gerlach, chief economist at EFG Bank.

Analysts foresee no significant changes to the SNB’s monetary policy, which aims to maintain inflation within the 0-2 per cent range and stabilise the franc’s value.

However, the new chairman will face challenges such as managing large payments to commercial banks, which totaled 7.4 billion francs last year, and addressing the SNB’s substantial balance sheet, which resulted in a 133 billion franc loss in 2022.