The French financial market regulator, locally known as Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), announced the appointment of Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani as the new Chair. She received the French President’s decree on October 26.
Barbat-Layani replaced Jean-Claude Hassan, who was holding the role in an interim capacity after Robert Ophèle stepped down at the end of July.
Barbat-Layani is a seasoned administrator, having served twenty years as a senior civil servant. She had spent the rest of her career working for several other governmental departments.
She took over the apex position of the AMF from being the General Secretary of the Ministry of the Economy and Finance in 2019. There, she was a Senior Defence and Security Official.
AMF oversees the French financial services market covering OTC derivatives and cryptocurrencies . Recently, it granted licenses to several crypto exchanges.
A Long Career in Civil Service
She started her career in 1993 at the French Treasury in the capacity of Deputy to the Secretary General of the Club de Paris. Later, she became Deputy to the Head of the Energy, Mines and Telecoms Office of the State Investments Department.
Barbat-Layani moved to the European Union in Brussels to the French Permanent Representation Office in 1997. There she assumed the role of Financial Attaché in charge of competition, state aid and financial services.
She moved back to the French government position after three years and joined the cabinet of the Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry as a technical advisor in charge of European Affairs.
Her other experience includes seven years as the Head of the Office of Credit Institutions and Investment Firms and Secretary General of the National Euro Committee in the State and Economic Financing Department. Later, she was appointed as the Deputy Director of Banks and General Interest Financing.
Moreover, she became the Deputy CEO of the National Federation of the Crédit Agricole in 2007 and joined the office of the Prime Minister as Deputy Director in 2010. Further, she held the role of Inspector General of Finance and CEO of the French Banking Federation and the Association of French Banks.
