SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan steps down after twelve years
Published: Friday, Mar 1st 2024, 17:50
Updated At: Friday, Mar 1st 2024, 17:51
العودة إلى البث المباشر
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) must look for a new head. The long-standing Chairman of the Governing Board, Thomas Jordan, will step down from his post at the end of September 2024.
"Having overcome the various challenges of recent years, now is the right time for me to step down," Jordan told the media on Friday. The restoration of price stability and financial stability has been successful.
Jordan said in response to questions that his health was no reason for his resignation: he was in good health. In summer 2021, the SNB Chairman of the Governing Board had to undergo heart surgery.
Crisis after crisis
Jordan has worked at the SNB since 1997. In 2012, the then Vice Chairman took over the leadership of the SNB from Philipp Hildebrand, who was stepping down. There was never really a quiet phase during his time in office, Jordan summed up on Friday: "One crisis followed the next".
Jordan caused a sensation in 2015, for example, when the SNB lifted the minimum exchange rate against the euro that had been introduced under his predecessor: In retrospect, the head of the SNB says that the euro floor was defended for as long as it made sense. The SNB was then once again at the forefront during the coronavirus lockdown with aid packages worth billions.
After inflation rose sharply worldwide following the end of the coronavirus pandemic, the SNB succeeded in bringing it back down, Jordan continued. During the CS crisis, which became more acute from the fall of 2022, the SNB was able to avert a financial crisis in cooperation with the federal government and the financial market supervisory authority Finma.
Receivables outside the mandate
In connection with the Credit Suisse crisis, however, demands were also made of the SNB that were not permitted by the mandate, said Jordan. He referred, for example, to demands that the SNB should have promised CS unlimited support in the style of former ECB chief Mario Draghi's famous "whatever it takes". The SNB does not have this role and it would have been "misleading" to claim this, he emphasized.
Overall, however, the outgoing head of the SNB praised the Swiss population and politicians. The independence of the SNB is generally well supported. He emphasized that he was confident that the country did not want any "experiments" with the SNB.
The 61-year-old went on to say that he had no plans for the time after his resignation. He will now complete his mandate with full commitment.
Speculation about succession
There were no answers to the question of a successor on Friday. The Bank Council and the Governing Board regretted Jordan's decision in a press release. He himself also kept a low profile in this regard: "This decision is not up to me," said Jordan.
Speculation was already rife among SNB observers on Friday. The favorite is probably Vice Chairman Martin Schlegel, who has been a member of the SNB Governing Board since 2022 and is considered Jordan's intimate. The third member of the three-member committee, Antoine Martin, was only appointed to the SNB Governing Board in September 2023 and only took up his post at the beginning of 2024.
However, some observers can also imagine an external solution, not least in view of Schlegel's relatively short term of office. For example, the Federal Council could appoint an "experienced banker" to head the SNB, suggested EFG economist Stefan Gerlach, who is also a member of the SNB Observatory. For Karsten Junius of Bank J. Safra Sarasin, it is clear that it will not be easy for the successor to follow in such big footsteps.
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