Another dramatic twist in the Raiffeisen saga: a new chairman brought in to help clean up the scandal-tarnished Swiss retail lender is withdrawing.
The cooperative lender's temporary chairman, Pascal Gantenbein, told Swiss newspaper «Finanz und Wirtschaft» (in German) that he doesn't plan to stand for reelection in November. «I underestimated how political such a role can suddenly become, and how it can turn contaminated», he was quoted by the paper.
A full-time university professor, Gantenbein has only been in office since March, when Raiffeisen's previous chairman stepped down amid a criminal probe of the bank's former CEO, Pierin Vincenz.
His withdrawal paves the way for other candidates, reportedly including former Credit Suisse private bank head Hans-Ulrich Meister, as finews.com reported earlier this month.
Naive Crisis Management
As recently as last month, Gantenbein planned to be stand for reelection. The resignation last week of current Raiffeisen CEO Patrik Gisel, per year-end, as the Vincenz investigation continues will have weakened Gantenbein.
Since throwing his hat in the ring, Gantenbein said «everything that I propose and everyone I speak to is viewed as Svengali-like behavior for the chairman's job. In fact, I just wanted to do my job.»
Gantenbein told the paper that Gisel's exit hadn't influenced his decision to withdraw. Instead, he wanted to «avoid a showdown for the chairman's spot in the media». His comments reveal a naive and somewhat academic understanding of corporate crisis management.
