Vontobel and Raiffeisen are finally burying the hatchet: following the conclusion of the Vescore transaction, the bosses of the two Swiss banks decided to let matters of discord rest and start afresh in a cooperation that is designed to last through 2020.

Vontobel, the Zurich-based private bank, and Raiffeisen, a retail bank with headquarters in St. Gallen, yesterday signed a contract to deepen the cooperation in asset management in a deal that is due to last through 2020. The acquisition of Raiffeisen unit Vescore by Vontobel was concluded at the same time, according to a press release by Vontobel today.

Time to Agree

With the agreement, the two banks have found a way back to a cooperation after a quarrel that had to be sorted out by a tribunal last year. Raiffeisen and Vontobel disagreed about an asset management initiative launched by Raiffeisen.

Vontobel will finance the acquisition of Vescore with its own money and the bank expects the unit to be profitable by 2018 after a restructuring.

No News on Job Cuts Yet

The new owner will concentrate Vescore's quantitative investments and sustainable investments in Munich, Basel and Zurich.

Vontobel didn't say how much it paid for the Raiffeisen unit and similarly kept mum about the number of jobs that are going to be cut. Media reports spoke of as many as 60 of 190 jobs that were likely to be removed.