Dr Eugen Haltiner, the chairman of Swiss financial regulator FINMA, is stepping down from his post at a time when the organisation has been the centre of major controversies about Swiss bank secrecy laws and transfers of data by UBS to the US tax authorities.

Dr Haltiner will leave the organisation at the end of December 2010, and the Federal Council is due to appoint his successor this autumn, the regulator said in a statement.

Dr Haltiner became chairman of the Swiss Federal Banking Commission at the start of 2006 and managed the merger of the SFBC, the Federal Office of Private Insurance, and the Anti-Money Laundering Control Authority to form FINMA. The FINMA merger came at a very difficult time – during the international financial crisis – but was nevertheless successfully achieved.

“Although it was not an easy decision to make, the time is now right for me to step down. The merger into FINMA was successfully concluded thanks to the commitment of everyone involved. I am convinced that FINMA, guided by its strong executive board, will continue to establish itself and grow in a targeted way," said Dr Haltiner.