Switzerland’s Federal Council has appointed Christoph Ammann as President of the Bank Council of the Swiss National Bank.

He succeeds Barbara Janom Steiner, who steps down at the end of April 2027 after reaching the statutory 12-year limit on Bank Council terms.

Janom Steiner has been a member of the Bank Council since 2015 and its President since 2019.

The change takes effect on 1 May 2027, with Ammann serving out the remainder of the 2024-2028 term of office.

Ammann has been a member of the Bank Council since 2019 and has served as its Vice President since May 2025.

Before that, he spent ten years as a member of the Bern Cantonal Government, heading its Department of Economic Affairs, Energy and Environment, a post he left in May 2026 after choosing not to stand for re-election.

He previously spent a decade in the Cantonal Parliament and was President of the Municipality of Meiringen before that. Ammann holds a degree in German studies.

In the same meeting, the Federal Council appointed Marc Mächler to the Bank Council in Janom Steiner’s place, naming him Vice President for the remainder of the 2024-2028 term.

Mächler currently sits on the Cantonal Government of St Gallen, where he has headed the Finance Department since 2020.

An economics graduate, he previously served in the St Gallen Cantonal Parliament and spent 20 years in various roles at UBS.

The Bank Council oversees and controls the conduct of business of the SNB, notably regarding compliance with legislation, regulations and directives.

Under the National Bank Act, it consists of eleven members, six elected by the Federal Council and five by the SNB’s General Meeting of Shareholders.

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