Christoph Lengwiler, a member of a supervisory body of the Swiss central bank, has been nominated for election to the board of one of Switzerland's biggest cantonal banks.

Christoph Lengwiler, professor of economics and head of the Institute of Financial Services Zug, has been called to take a seat on the board of Berner Kantonalbank (BEKB), the company said in a statement today.

With the nomination, the economics expert will retain his links to the real economy. Lengwiler will have to give up a similar position at the Luzerner Kantonalbank (LUKB) in May because of a restriction of tenure. He was elected in 2001 to the board of LUKB and acted as deputy chairman for the past five years.

Member of SNB Council

Lengwiler is a member of the Bank Council of the Swiss central bank, a supervisory body, which oversee and controls the conduct of the bank's business.

BEKB also nominated Eva Jaisli and Juerg Rebsamen as new members of its board. The three nominees are set to replace Kathrin Anderegg-Dietrich, Rudolf Gruenig and Rudolf Wehrli, who have reached the end of their tenure. Daniel Bloch, Peter Siegenthaler, Rudolf Staempfli and Peter Wittwer are up for reelection, while former Swiss Exchange boss Antoinette Hunziker-Ebneter has been nominated as chairman.