5. Mark Branson

The head of Swiss financial regulator Finma oversaw the approval of two crypto firms this year: Seba and Sygnum in August became the world's first licensed digital asset banks. Mark Branson also played an instrumental role in the government's response to a Facebook-backed plan for a global cryptocurrency, Libra, based in Switzerland. At year-end, the government appeared to back down on an initially warm reception from Branson, a British-Swiss former UBS banker who is embarking on his tenth year at Finma.

6. Juerg Zeltner

UBS' top private banker fulfilled what he called a boyhood dream: Juerg Zeltner resurfaced with a splash as head of KBL, a Qatari-owned group of European private banks. The ambitious 53-year-old set out to build a «partnership»-style bank in the mold of Pictet, picking off several high-profile former associates from UBS in the process. This year, KBL is poised for a rebrand and is expected to close the acquisition of a Swiss private bank in the first quarter.

7. Romeo Lacher

As Julius Baer's new overseer and on his way out as chairman of Switzerland's stock exchange operator SIX, Romeo Lacher was in the midst of several of the biggest moves in Swiss finance this year. The former Credit Suisse banker was the driver behind SIX's project to build a digital stock exchange, and late in the year surprised market watchers with a hefty offer for Madrid rival BME, or Bolsas y Mercados Españoles. At Julius Baer, Lacher didn't even wait three months to install Philipp Rickenbacher to replace CEO Bernhard Hodler.