FINMA Appoints Jan Blöchliger as Head of Banks Division

The Board of Directors of the (FINMA) announced on Tuesday that it has appointed Jan Blöchliger as the new Head of Banks division and a member of FINMA’s Executive Board.

Blöchliger is a 41-year-old lawyer and Swiss citizen who has been with FINMA since 2011, and he will begin his new role on July 16, 2018. He will be taking over Michael Schoch who is leaving the , the statement says.

The Banks division at is responsible for authorizing and supervising banks and securities dealers. The division has around one hundred members of staff.

Since 2011, Blöchliger has held numerous positions at FINMA. He originally joined the regulator as a legal counsel where he performed central legal functions and in 2013 was promoted to Head of General Secretariat and Communications.

From 2015, Blöchliger has been in charge of the section that is responsible for supervising the Swiss multinational investment bank, Credit Suisse Group. Before his career at FINMA, Blöchliger worked as a lawyer in numerous commercial law firms such as Schellenberg Wittmer and Mayer Brown.

Michael Schoch’s departure

According to the statement, Michael Schoch is leaving to pursue a new professional challenge, and he is leaving the regulator at his own request. He joined FINMA in 2012 as the Head of the Risk Management section of the Banks division.

Schoch has been the Head of the Banks division since July 1, 2014, and was also a member of the Executive Board.  In addition, since 2014 Schoch has represented FINMA on the Basel Committee, a committee of banking supervisory authorities.

Commenting on the new appointment, the CEO of FINMA, Mark Branson, said: “I would like to thank Michael Schoch for all the work he has done for FINMA over the years. He played a key role for us.

“He has made a major contribution to the development of bank supervision and has been an outstanding ambassador for Switzerland on the international stage. Under his leadership, supervision became more risk-oriented and differentiated.

“We deeply regret his decision to leave FINMA and wish him every success in the future. Having said that, we are very happy to have found a strong internal replacement in Jan Blöchliger.”