(Bloomberg) -- Switzerland should seize the opportunity offered by the departure of Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan to transform the central bank, according to a group of economists called the SNB Observatory.

“In the immediate future, a new member of the Governing Board must be selected,” the group of academics usually critical of the SNB’s leadership said in a report published Monday. “We have repeatedly argued that the board should have at most one member from inside the SNB and two from the outside.”

The other two rate setters are an insider — Martin Schlegel — and an outsider — Antoine Martin. Therefore another outsider should be appointed, the economists said, adding that they object to the de-facto expected promotion of a vice president to the top role. They also highlighted that Schlegel and Martin are “inexperienced by historical standards.”

“In the medium term, deeper reforms are called for,” said the SNB Observatory report, which currently is rnu by Stefan Gerlach, Yvan Lengwiler and Charles Wyplosz. “These require time and perhaps amendments to the National Bank Act.”

The recommended reforms include the following areas:

• The monetary policy decision-making process within the SNB
• The rules that determine the profit distribution
• The role of the Bank Council, which is the SNB’s de facto supervisory board
• A periodic review of key SNB activities by the government, parliament or the Bank Council
• The promotion of women within the institution

Jordan announced Friday that he would be exiting the central bank at the end of September after more than 12 years at its helm. 

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