Stephan Klinger

Profile

Stephan Klinger is a senior legal, regulatory and compliance expert with more than 15 years of leadership experience across central banking, financial supervision, banking, insurance and advisory work. Most recently he was Head Legal Advisor of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank and head of the national competent authority for the enforcement of EU financial sanctions, reporting directly to the Governing Board.

Before that he led Group Compliance at the Association of Austrian Volksbanken, Group Legal at Vienna Insurance Group and Legal & Compliance at ÖVAG during the restructuring of a systemic European banking group. He began his career at the Austrian Financial Market Authority, where he led the prospectus team and represented Austria in CESR and ESMA. He combines this practice with more than 25 years of academic teaching in Europe, Asia and the United States and a multidisciplinary background in law, management, philosophy and social anthropology.

Areas of expertise

• 01EU financial regulation and supervisory law
• 02Financial sanctions and restrictive measures→
• 03AML/CFT and compliance governance→
• 04Banking, capital markets and securities law
• 05Digital finance, crypto-assets and MiCAR→
• 06Operational resilience, DORA and ICT governance
• 07Corporate governance and internal controls
• 08Negotiation, mediation and leadership

Career

1. since 2024Regulatory consultant · Senior expertAdvising financial institutions and senior management on EU and national regulatory, compliance and sanctions frameworks; co-founder of Compliance Networks in 2026
2. 2022–2024Head of Legal · Oesterreichische NationalbankHead of the national competent authority for the enforcement of EU financial sanctions; reporting directly to the Governing Board
3. 2017–2021Head of Group Compliance · Association of Austrian VolksbankenLed and centralised compliance across the association; reporting to the Board
4. 2015–2017Head of Group Legal · Vienna Insurance GroupEstablished a group legal function and led group-wide legal projects
5. 2013–2015Head of Legal & Compliance · ÖVAGRestructuring of a systemic European banking group
6. 2010–2013Department Head Legal Treasury, Capital Markets & Asset Management · ÖVAG
7. 2007–2010Head of Prospectus Team · Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA)Represented Austria in the CESR Prospectus Group and the ESMA Standing Committee on Corporate Finance

Selected engagements & achievements