According to La Tercera, the Senate approved the appointment of Macarena Lobos and Juan Esteban Laval as new commissioners of the Financial Market Commission (CMF), the body that oversees banks, insurers and the securities market in Chile. The executive branch’s proposal received 31 votes in favor, 11 against and 3 abstentions.
The government needed 29 votes out of a total of 50 senators. The law requires four-sevenths of serving members to approve these appointments. The vote exceeded that threshold by two votes, despite doubts that arose during the debate.
Lobos and Laval will replace Bernardita Piedrabuena and Augusto Iglesias. Both completed their terms at the regulator two weeks ago, according to the same outlet.
Lobos is a lawyer, an independent and close to the Christian Democratic Party (DC). She holds a doctorate in law from the Complutense University of Madrid. Between 2022 and 2026, she served as undersecretary and then minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency in Gabriel Boric’s government. Previously, she was undersecretary of finance during Michelle Bachelet’s second government and legislative coordinator at that ministry.
Laval is currently general counsel of the Association of Banks and Financial Institutions (Abif), the banking industry association. Between 2004 and 2012, he was chief legal counsel at the Central Bank. He holds a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University in the United States. Shortly after graduating, he worked at the Rettig Commission, the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He is also a nephew of former DC senators Andrés and Adolfo Zaldívar.
According to La Tercera, both nominees had cross-party support on technical grounds. However, the Socialist Party (PS) complained that candidates closer to its political camp had not been considered. The PS preferred to reappoint Piedrabuena, who sought another term at the CMF.
The Socialist objection has a recent precedent. A few weeks ago, the Senate approved another government proposal linked to the DC: the nomination of Guillermo Larraín as a member of the Pension Advisory Council.
Laval’s appointment raises another issue. The new commissioner comes from the industry association representing the very institutions the CMF oversees. The source does not report whether there were formal objections on that point. It also does not specify when the two will take office.