ZURICH: The Swiss government should not wait any longer to appoint the new head of its central bank, a member of the Swiss National Bank's supervisory council said on Monday, indicating he supported acting chief Thomas Jordan for the post.
Jordan has been running the bank and its campaign to halt the rise of the Swiss franc since Philipp Hildebrand quit last month over a currency trading scandal.
He is widely seen as the leading candidate to take over permanently, but officials have said a decision might not come until April and one media report last week said centre-left politicians have raised doubts about Jordan's appointment.
"I'm clearly of the opinion that the governorship needs to be filled as quickly as possible," Gerold Buehrer, who sits on the panel as the head of business lobby economiesuisse, was quoted as saying by financial website Cash.
"Given the high importance of the central bank in the current difficult climate, the government cannot postpone the nomination any longer."
Switzerland's multi-party government nominates members of the three-person policy-setting board upon receipt of a recommendation from the supervisory council. The SNB has said the council expects to make a nomination for a new board member in April - although that could theoretically happen separately from the appointment of a new SNB president.
"That's much too late (to appoint the new president)," Buehrer said. "Electing a third board member is not as time critical. Thomas Jordan has a proven track record. I don't understand, why the government is waiting with this matter."
The SNB put a cap of 1.20 per euro on the franc on Sept. 6 to shield the economy from a recession. Investors anxious about the euro zone crisis had pushed the safe-haven franc up nearly 20 percent in the space of just a few months last year.
With the spectre of a recession looming over the euro zone, Switzerland's biggest trading partner, Alpine growth is also set to slow.
Buehrer said he does not expect a recession for Switzerland. But the prospect of slowing momentum has led some politicians and trade unions to call on the SNB to weaken the franc further.
"Economiesuisse expects that the central bank will defend the cap of 1.20 come hell or high water," Buehrer said.
"Of course as an exporter I'd regard an exchange rate of more than 1.30 as welcome. But I'm a realist. If the central bank sets the cap too high, it exposes itself to too many risks."
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