The management of the Swiss Cantonal Banks Association (VSKB) will be newly appointed in mid-2025. The board of directors has elected Oliver Buschan as the new director, effective July 1, 2025, according to a statement on Friday.

He will succeed the long-time director Hanspeter Hess, who will retire in the middle of next year.

Buschan brings extensive experience in banking, financial market supervision, and advocacy. He began his career in the banking sector and then moved to the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) in 2000, where he held various leadership roles for eleven years.

Head of Corporate Governance at UBS

In 2011, he left the financial market regulator to join UBS, where he led various complex organizational development, innovation, and digitalization projects. Among other responsibilities, as Head of Corporate Governance, he managed the policy framework and corporate governance standards of the major bank for several years. In 2020, Oliver Buschan became a member of the executive board and took over the financial markets and regulation division at the Swiss Bankers Association (SBVg).

Hess has been with the VSKB since 1995 and was appointed director in 2006. During his long tenure, he significantly shaped the political work of the association and strengthened its position as an important voice in the Swiss banking sector, according to the statement.

The association's board of directors praises his «longstanding, successful work» and thanks him for his competent management of the office.