ZURICH, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The Swiss government has appointed two new members to the expanded governing board of the Swiss National Bank, it said on Friday.
Rosmarie Schlup, currently an executive director at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and Sebastien Kreanzlin, head of the SNB's Banking Operations division, will join the committee next year.
The expanded governing board takes part in discussions on monetary policy, but does not make decisions on issues such as interest rates, which are reserved for the three-member governing council headed by SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan.
The appointment of Schlup and Kraenzlin follows the decision of longstanding SNB official Dewet Moser to retire, effective March 31.
It increases the size of the SNB's expanded governing board from four members to five, a move designed to help the central bank cope with a larger and more complex workload, including managing its 800 billion Swiss franc ($937.32 billion) balance sheet.
The decision to increase the committee "is aimed at helping the institution to continue to manage well the monetary policy and operational challenges that have risen sharply in recent years," the SNB said.
The SNB said it will decide "in due course" which departments Schlup and Kraenzlin are allocated to. ($1 = 0.8535 Swiss francs) (Reporting by John Revill, Editing by Rachel More)
