The operational head and CFO of China Construction Bank's Swiss branch has left. The Swiss industry veteran was a co-architect of the Chinese institution's arrival on the local financial scene.
Chief operating officer (COO) Holger Demuth departed the Swiss branch of the Chinese state-owned China Construction Bank (CCB) at the end of last year, the bank confirmed to finews.com on Monday. The Zurich-based financial blog «Inside Paradeplatz» was the first to report on the personnel matter. Demuth also served as the chief financial officer (CFO).
Successor Sought
The search for a successor to take over Demuth's duties has been underway since the beginning of the year and is well advanced, CCB said.
Demuth was the «Swiss face» and co-architect of the local branch along with country head David Gong heading a team of several dozen employees, including Swiss of Chinese origin.
Renminbi Hub
CCB was granted a Swiss banking license in 2015, becoming a trailblazer in recent years for other Chinese banks in Switzerland, including ICBC and the Bank of China.
The bank's arrival fulfilled a precondition for a Swiss renminbi hub, which supports trading in the Chinese currency from Switzerland. The move paid off for CCB. As a licensed center for renminbi trading, it focuses on the approximately 300 largest Swiss companies that maintain business relations with China.
The China Problem
«We are almost overrun by demand,» Demuth told finews.com a few years ago. Since then, things have been quieter around the hub, CCB, and Chinese banks in Switzerland in general. The dispute between the US and China is causing increased turmoil and keeping Swiss private bankers with business in China on their toes.
Given that the departure of CCB's «Swiss face» may have come at an inopportune time for CCB.
