Unnur Gunnarsdóttir appointed Director General of the Financial Supervisory Authority
Unnur Gunnarsdóttir, who has been acting Director General of the Financial Supervisory Authority since 1 March this year, has now been appointed Director General of the Authority. A law graduate of the University of Iceland, Unnur pursued graduate studies in both the UK and Canada. She previously served as the Financial Supervisory Authority's Chief Legal Counsel.
Unnur has extensive experience of legal work in the financial sphere, including public administration and judicial functions. She worked for seven years in the banking supervision section of the Central Bank of Iceland, and for five years as a financial services expert at EFTA Secretariat in Brussels. She also served as managing director of the payment mediation company Fjölgreiðslumiðlun for two years. In public administration, Unnur was office director in the Ministry of Communications and Local Government for seven years, and acting District Court justice of the Reykjavík District Court.
After a comprehensive recruitment process, Unnur was selected from a group of ten applicants. The process is described in a report from the Board of Directors of the Financial Supervisory Authority on the appointment of the Director General, which has been made available on the Authority's website. The report concludes, inter alia:
“Unnur has a clear vision of the Authority's future, emphasising the safeguarding of public interests; active efforts to combat violations; analysis and risk assessment work; building confidence; and having the Financial Supervisory Authority respond seriously to growing demands that it participate in promoting financial stability.”