The private banking group has shaken up its management team and created a chief operating officer organisational unit following structural and regulatory change.

Liechtenstein-headquartered VP Bank Group has appointed Saxo Bank’s Martin Beinhoff its new chief operating officer as part of a management overhaul.

Beinhoff, who was most recently a member of the executive board of management at Saxo Bank (Switzerland) where he worked for seven years, will join to head up the group’s new chief operating officer organisational unit, which will be created with effect from the beginning of 2016. He will be responsible for group information technology, group treasury and execution and group operations. 

“Martin C. Beinhoff is a recognised expert in his field, and we are delighted to have him on board as Chief Operating Officer of VP Bank Group. His banking expertise, combined with a management structure more clearly focused on current and future needs, will enable us to respond to market dynamics and exploit resulting opportunities more consistently,” said Fredy Vogt, chairman of the VP Bank Group’s board of directors.

The COO unit adds to the existing chief executive officer, client business, and chief financial officer and banking services organisational units. As the fourth member of the expanded group executive management, Beinhoff will join chief executive Alfred Moeckli, head of client business Christoph Mauchle, who runs the private banking and intermediaries segments, and head of the chief financial officer organisational unit Siegbert Näscher. Näscher has been appointed chief risk officer and will take on this role while continuing to lead group finance and group risk.

VP Bank said the restructure comes in response to organisational requirements following the merger with Centrum Bank in January as well as regulatory changes, namely Basel III which requires a risk management function be separate from operating units to prevent potential conflicts of interest in day-to-day business operations. 

“By consolidating the core functions and processes within the newly created ‘Chief Operating Officer’ organisational unit, we will be able to reduce complexity and to cut costs,” said chief executive Moeckli.

The group added that the shake-up also reflects the increased levels of digitisation and growing importance of IT-based processes and solutions both in the intermediaries business and private banking.