The National Bank is getting a new boss. In future, Martin Schlegel, the former Vice President of the SNB Board of Directors, will head the powerful institution. Who is this man with perhaps the most important position in the country?
The election as head of the National Bank comes as no surprise to Martin Schlegel. The 47-year-old Zurich native has had a picture-book career: Immediately after studying economics, he started as an intern in the SNB research department. His boss at the time was Thomas Jordan, the man in whose footsteps Schlegel is now following as SNB boss. He carefully made his way to the top, step by step.
Career with background noise
Important positions included: Head of the Foreign Exchange and Gold Department, then Head of the SNB branch in Singapore. He took on a teaching position in monetary policy at the University of Basel and made a name for himself as an expert on projects of the International Monetary Fund. He became publicly known when he was elected Vice President of the three-member SNB Board of Directors two years ago. The decision was irritating. Andréa Maechler had been a member of the powerful executive committee for some time, and was the first woman to do so. She was passed over in the Vice President election, drew the consequences and resigned.
Legend:
He did it: Martin Schlegel is elected President of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank by the Federal Council.
KEYSTONE/Marcel Bieri
Since then, Schlegel has been considered the top favorite to succeed Jordan. And when he was asked recently whether he was available for the position, he replied with a straight face: “I can’t comment on that.” He knew that he was the most promising candidate for the top job.
CS crisis as a test
Shortly after his election as deputy head two years ago, the first test came: Credit Suisse was in trouble. Martin Schlegel had to prove himself as a crisis manager. Within the SNB leadership, he was responsible for overseeing the stability of the financial center. It was his team that kept CS afloat at the height of the crisis with billions from the National Bank.
In March 2023, the Federal Council ordered CS into the arms of its competitor UBS. In an interview with SRF, Schlegel described the emergency takeover of CS by UBS as the “best solution” among exclusively “bad solutions”: “Look, the authorities have been working on various solutions for several months. We have really tried everything. And the federal government has come to the conclusion that this is the best solution, even if you have to say that it was actually the best solution among bad solutions.” The new SNB boss will also have to make difficult decisions in the future.
The eternal intern
For example, he must decide whether the National Bank should boldly lower interest rates further in the near future or whether this will endanger price stability. After all, it is the National Bank’s mandate to keep prices in Switzerland as stable as possible. The task will demand a lot of energy from the new SNB boss, meaning there will be little time for his family and his hobby of music. Schlegel’s wife is the economist Nicole Brändle, recently appointed director of the Hotellerie Suisse industry association. The couple have two daughters and a son.
Legend:
From intern to head of the central bank: Martin Schlegel climbed the career ladder at the National Bank – pictured here as vice president. (April 24, 2023)
KEYSTONE/Alessandro della Valle
In his private life, Schlegel is considered to be approachable and uncomplicated. Until a few years ago, he played bass guitar in rock bands. And his humor shines through in interviews: Looking back on his early days at the SNB, he told the newspaper NZZ: “I was Thomas Jordan’s intern.” He added mischievously: “And somehow I still am.”
He referred to this in front of the media today and said: “I joined the National Bank as an intern. This is now very, very well known.” Martin Schlegel is signaling that he is always ready to learn.