People Moves

EFG Names New Executive Line-Up As BSI Acquisition Reaches Final Chapter

Tom Burroughes Group Editor London 5 July 2016

EFG Names New Executive Line-Up As BSI Acquisition Reaches Final Chapter

The Switzerland-headquartered banks, in the throes of an M&A deal, have a new executive committee and management line-up.

Zurich-listed EFG International has unveiled its new executive committee and management structure as it puts the finishing touches onto its acquisition of fellow Swiss-headquartered bank, BSI. To approve its financing of the acquisition, meanwhile, EFG International said it will hold an extraordinary general meeting on 26 July.

The executive committee’s members are Joachim H. Straehle, CEO; Giorgio Pradelli, deputy CEO & chief financial officer; Mark Bagnall, head of IT & operations; Albert Chiu, head of Asia region; Renato Cohn, head of investment solutions;  Anthony Cooke-Yarborough, head of UK region; Peter Fischer, head of strategy;  Reto Kunz, chief risk officer; Adrian Kyriazi, head of Romandie & Continental Europe Region; Maurizio Moranzoni, head of global markets; Gérald Robert, head of Latin America; Renato Santi, head of Central Switzerland, Ticino & Italy Region; Sixto Campano, head of Americas region.

EFG said in May that after completing its ordinary share capital increase linked to the acquisition, that the  final size of the share component of the purchase price payable to BTG Pactual will be 30 per cent of EFG’s share capital immediately after the transaction closes.

The Swiss firms came together after Brazil-based BTG Pactual decided to put BSI up for sale having only purchased the business a few months previously; BTG Pactual became engulfed in a high-profile corruption scandal on Brazil and had to sell BSI as part of a capital-raising exercise. 

BSI has also suffered controversy; its BSI Bank subsidiary in Singapore is losing its merchant banking licence granted in the Asian city-state because of anti-money laundering and related misdemeanours.

In its statement today, EFG said its board of directors also has appointed five members of BSI’s group executive board as members of EFG International’s executive committee, effective as of the closing of the transaction: Renato Cohn, Reto Kunz, Maurizio Moranzoni, Gérald Robert and Renato Santi.

Cohn, Moranzoni and Santi will be based in Lugano; Robert will be in Geneva. James Lee will step down from the executive committee of EFG International as of the closing and will retire from the company at a later date. Frederick Link will step down from the executive committee of EFG International as of the closing; he will remain in his role as EFG Bank’s chief risk officer during a transitional phase and will continue in the organisation in a senior role. 

Once the acquisition is complete, BSI will operate as a separate subsidiary within EFG International’s holding structure until its full integration, which will take place market by market and is planned for completion by mid-2017.

 

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