The Facebook-backed payments network is poaching another top banker from Credit Suisse.
The Geneva-based Libra association is appointing Saumya Bhavsar as its general counsel, it said in a statement on its website. Bhavsar was most recently regulatory lead at Credit Suisse, where she reported directly to CEO Tidjane Thiam until his departure in February.
She is the second top banker Libra has poached from Credit Suisse, after anti-crime expert Sterling Daines earlier this year. Bhavsar is a regulatory veteran who began her career at the U.S. Treasury before joining UBS in 2005. She led discussions with U.S. authorities about the Swiss bank's cross-border tax settlement and how to implement legal and regulatory requirements.
Libra Vs Central Banks
Libra reportedly may launch a regulated payments system by year-end. It recently dramatically scaled back on initial ambitions for a global cryptocurrency after vocal regulatory and industry opposition. The move comes against the backdrop of central banks, including Switzerland's, tinkering with the idea of their own digital currencies.
The project, led by Facebook veteran David Marcus and based in Geneva, has spent recent months poaching from traditional banking: it brought in Stuart Levey, a veteran of government service and of British bank HSBC, as CEO, and former U.S. attorney Steve Bunnell as chief legal officer.
