The demise of former Raiffeisen CEO Pierin Vincenz and the crisis this prompted at his former employer has left lots of losers in its wake. With one very notable exception.
Raiffeisen and the cooperative members have their own annus horribilis: the ex-CEO Pierin Vincenz behind bars for months, a reprimand by the regulator for a defective corporate governance and now the fight over who is to take over as CEO and chairman.
Switzerland’s third-largest bank has been badly shaken by the events that had their origin at the headquarters in St. Gallen. The values of the member banks, who always maintained a moral behavior, have been tarnished by the few managers with their big egos.
The losers are: Vincenz, who faces a prison term if convicted; Johannes Rueegg-Stuerm, the former chairman, who failed in his supervision; interim Chairman Pascal Gantenbein, who ditched his chance for a clean break with the past; and Patrik Gisel, the CEO who did his all to retain the CEO job, before succumbing amid one of Switzerland’s biggest banking scandals of the past decades.
First Move: Asset Management
Much misery, with one notable winner: Vontobel. The private bank has sleekly exploited the weakness of Raiffeisen’s diversification strategy, first and foremost in asset management.
In 2016, Vontobel bought Vescore, the vehicle Raiffeisen used to cluster all the wealth management business under one roof. Accumulating losses prompted Raiffeisen to divest the firm.
With the acquisition, Vontobel was able to add quantitative and sustainability strategies to its own asset management at an utterly modest expense. Starting this year, Vescore has contributed to Vontobel’s profits.
Second Move: Private Banking
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