News

Alain Girard to lead SFMA Banks division

SFMA has appointed Alain Girard as Head of the Banks division from 1 April 2026, succeeding Thomas Hirschi.

SFMA's Board of Directors has appointed Alain Girard as the new Head of the Banks division. Girard, currently Head of Recovery and Resolution and a member of the Executive Board, will take up the role on 1 April 2026.

He succeeds Thomas Hirschi, who left SFMA on 31 August 2025. Simon Brönnimann has managed the Banks division on an interim basis since then and will gradually hand over business to Girard before taking over Recovery and Resolution ad interim.

Girard, 45, has led Recovery and Resolution since 2022. He was part of the crisis unit for the Credit Suisse crisis, represents SFMA in the Financial Stability Board's Resolution Steering Group and is a member of the High-Level Task Force for Bail-in Execution.

From 2019 to 2022, Girard headed the Supervision of Small Banks and Securities Firms section in the Banks division and played an important role in regulatory projects, including introduction of the small banks regime. Before joining SFMA in 2015, he worked as a lawyer in Zurich.

SFMA said Girard offers strategic strength, senior leadership, crisis experience and a strong international supervisory network. It also thanked Brönnimann for leading the Banks division on an interim basis and for agreeing to lead Recovery and Resolution temporarily.