The management of Bank Cler is stepping down as one. Basler Kantonalbank, which owns the bank, has nominated a new team from within its own ranks to replace the outgoing managers.
Basil Heeb, the new chief executive officer of Basler Kantonalbank (BKB) in June staked out the way forward for his bank and Bank Cler, a bank that used to be known as Bank Coop. He wanted to make the two banks work together more closely and intended to cut some 40 jobs.
The management committee of Bank Cler evidently didn’t support Heeb’s strategy. It decided to step down, as BKB said in a statement on Tuesday.
New Team Ready
BKB had to find a replacement for CEO Sandra Lienhart, CFO René Saluz and Peter Schnellmann, the head of distribution. Heeb decided to take the team from within the ranks of BKB: starting in September, Mariateresa Vacalli (pictured below) will lead the bank as CEO – she used to be head of digital at BKB. Philipp Lejeune, the chief credit officer at BKB, will become the new CFO.
Last month, Heeb insisted that Bank Cler will become a major provider of growth for the group, with its banking application Zak as a key component. So far, the digital banking app has not lived up to the expectations of the bank.
