The Libra Association, the Facebook-backed group behind the development of a digital currency, has named veteran banking, regulatory and national security expert Stuart Levey as its first CEO, according to a press release.

Levey is the current chief legal officer at HSBC and previously served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence under the Bush and Obama Administrations. During his tenure he played a key role in developing U.S. and international policy to combat illicit financial activity. 

He will step down from HSBC this summer and join Geneva, Switzerland-based Libra immediately after and be based in Washington D.C. 

"I am honored to join the Libra Association as it charts a bold path forward to harness the power of technology to transform the global payments landscape," he said in the release. "Technology provides us with the opportunity to make it easier for individuals and businesses to send and receive money, and to empower more than a billion people who have been left on the sidelines of the financial system, all with robust controls to detect and deter illicit financial activity."

Libra earlier this month initiated the payment system licensing process with FINMA, beginning a move into its operational phase.

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