A view into official roles: Risk Management at the SNB and Policy design at the SIF

Summary

How does the SNB manage its risks, and SIF’s overview on the current state of policy & regulation?

This event will provide a comprehensive overview of the Risk Management function at the Swiss National Bank (SNB), with a particular focus on Collateral Management within the SNB’s liquidity facilities. Participants will gain insights into how risk is identified, monitored, and mitigated in a central banking context.
In addition, current policy measures and regulatory responses will be presented by a representative of the State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF), including lessons learned from recent crises and ongoing efforts to strengthen the resilience of the Swiss financial system.

Key Topics

Swiss National Bank – Risk Management:

• General overview and role of risk management
• Risk function within the new liquidity facilities
• Outlook

State Secretariat for International Finance – SIF:

• Goals of today’s too-big-to-fail regulation
• Focus area liquidity measures
• Regulatory follow-up work in the aftermath of the Credit Suisse crisis:
  • Federal Council report on banking stability
  • Report of the Parliamentary Investigation Committee
  • Next steps in policy and regulation

Presenters

• Sophie Faber, Head of Risk Management at Swiss National Bank
  Sophie Faber is Head of Risk Management at the Swiss National Bank (SNB). She advises the Governing Board on SNB’s balance sheet and currency reserve investment policies. Her team measures and controls all financial risks related to reserves, monetary policy, and financial stability, and oversees non-financial aspects of reserve management. Sophie joined Risk Management in 2000 after working as a macroeconomist in the Economic Analysis unit and at the Federal Department of Finance. She holds a Master’s degree in Macroeconomics and Finance from the University of Zurich and is a certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM) by GARP.
• Vera Imfeld, Head of Section Banks, State Secretariat for International Finance
  Vera Imfeld has been Head of Section Banks at the State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF) since 2023, overseeing banking regulation with a focus on Too-Big-To-Fail matters. In this role, she contributes to shaping Switzerland’s financial market policy and represents the country’s interests in banking, monetary, and regulatory matters both domestically and internationally, helping to maintain a stable, competitive, and globally recognized Swiss financial centre. Prior to joining SIF, Vera spent nine years at PostFinance in Risk Management — the institution’s first line of defense (Treasury). She spent the last two years there as Head of Interest Rate and Liquidity Risk Management. She holds a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Economics from the University of Zurich.

The event will be introduced by Serena Fioravanti, SRA Board Member and Chief Risk Officer at ABN AMRO Bank and moderated by Dr. Urs Bischof, Chief Risk Officer at Berner Kantonalbank.

Agenda

17:45  Arrival & Name Tag Collection
18:10  Welcome and Introduction (Serena Fioravanti & Dr. Urs Bischof)
18:15  Presentations (Sophie Faber and Vera Imfeld)
18:45  Panel with all the speakers and Q&A (All)
19:25  Conclusion
19:30  Networking Drinks
20:30 End

Chapter Event