A statement announcing the creation of the new Swiss Finance Council says the organisation will "represent the interests of internationally-active Swiss financial institutions, and provide a platform to share experience, expertise and knowledge through a permanent representative office in Brussels, thereby supporting the work of the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) in EU-related matters".
Heading up the new council is a board comprised of Alexis Lautenberg, a senior policy adviser to the Brussels office of Steptoe & Johnson, who is its chairman, along with board members Urs Rohner, who is chairman of Credit Suisse, and Axel Weber, chairman of UBS.
Prior to joining Steptoe & Johnson, Lautenberg headed the Swiss Mission to the European Union from 1993 to 1999, and was subsequently Swiss ambassador to Italy and the UK.
'More actively engaged'
Lautenberg said internationally active Swiss financial institutions "want to become more actively engaged in European policy matters", and that the new council would give them an opportunity to do so.
He noted that the launch was timed to coincide with events due to take place in Brussels imminently, and would give members of the new Swiss Finance Council the ability to "participate actively in EU-level discussions around the priorities for the upcoming legislative period 2014-2019”.
Among the issues European bankers are keenly interested in at the moment, and the new Swiss Finance Council is certain to be focussing on, include MiFID II, European Market Infrastructure Regulation and Banking Union, as well as the latest developments in taxation policies, structural reforms and the proposed EU Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive.
“By establishing a representative office now," he added, "a solid network can be developed so that we are ready to engage in discussions around key policy issues, in light of the changes in the EU institutions, following next year’s European parliamentary elections.”
According to today's statement, the Swiss Finance Council intends to reach out to "relevant stakeholders in the European financial policy debate" and establish working relations with them.
It said it will assess the current policy-making framework in Europe and work to "develop joint positions on key dossiers" on behalf of its members.
Relationship with SBA
With respect to the SBA, an existing Swiss bankers' association, the Swiss Finance Council said its work would "complement and reinforce" that of the other organisation, of which both Credit Suisse and UBS are members.
"There will be close coordination between the two going forward," it said. "Credit Suisse and UBS will remain active members of the SBA, and have kept it abreast of discussions regarding the establishment of the Swiss Finance Council."
