Leonteq Wins Investor Backing

«Raiffeisen could envisage selling about 9 percent of Leonteq shares to a strategic partner who would support the further development and the well-being of Leonteq, and that there were no intentions to sell any further shares.»

Bulky Derivatives Portfolio

The Swiss bank, mainly a domestic mortgage lender, plans to «continue expanding the structured product portfolio, which had grown to an outstanding value of 4.5 billion Swiss francs over a short period,» Amato said.

The comments illustrate that Raiffeisen, which has a spotty record as a strategic investor, has hitched its fortunes to Leonteq. The bank is a retail, mortgage, and small business lender, and desperate to put its fund to use.

Raiffeisen picked through the wreckage of now-defunct Swiss bank Wegelin & Cie in 2013 to build what is now Notenstein La Roche. It recently offloaded a sizable stake in banking software firm Avaloq.

Finding a CEO?

Gisel and Raiffeisen's backing represents a sign of the much-needed stability and consistency for Leonteq that Chambers (pictured below) refers to. Amato calmed the waters further, saying Leonteq is on a solid track operationally and financially, and expects a successful fourth quarter. 

The last remaining uncertainty? Chambers has to find a new, permanent CEO. Amato has shown leadership in his missive, and the fact that he will visit Asia shortly with Thomas Meier, a Julius Baer veteran and Leonteq board member, backs his standing. But the accountant and former auditor is probably not in line for the job.

Chambers listed a series of qualities he is looking for from a new CEO in his comments «Finanz und Wirtschaft» – with no mention of Amato. «The benchmark is pretty high,» he merely said.