Raiffeisen Chairman Johannes Rueegg-Stuerm addresses the criminal investigation of ex-Chief Executive Pierin Vincenz and an «unfortunate combination» of oversight.
The arrest last week of his former CEO Pierin Vincenz in a criminal probe «completely shocked and surprised» him, Johannes Rueegg-Stuerm told Swiss weekly «NZZ am Sonntag» (in German, behind paywall). But the long-standing chairman of retail lender Raiffeisen dismissed the notion he exercised lax oversight.
«You do not have the complete picture if you receive false or incomplete information,» Raiffeisen's top overseer said.
«Unfortunate Combination»
While rejecting criticism that Raiffeisen's board failed to spot the alleged wrong-doing, Rueegg-Stuerm conceded that hiring Vincenz's wife as head of the bank's legal department was an «unfortunate combination» given the potential conflicts of interest: «With the knowledge I have now, of course I would handle that differently.»
Raiffeisen's detractors have criticized the bank's board as not active enough to rein in Vincenz, an ambitious and dynamic Swiss banker who ran Raiffeisen for 17 years. Rueegg-Stuerm said he wants to stand for another two-year term despite the criticism. His salary for the part-time job is 480,000 Swiss francs.
