VP Bank Group restructures Group Executive Management
VP Bank Group is adjusting its organisational and management structure by consolidating functions within Group Executive Management. This action plan has been adopted on the basis of the Group’s strategy and medium-term goals up to 2020. It also reflects new structural and organisational requirements following the merger with Centrum Bank as well as economic and regulatory changes. For example, Basel III requires a risk management function that is separate from operating units to prevent potential conflicts of interest in day-to-day business operations. The low-key restructuring initiated by the Board of Directors, reinforced by a clearly demarcated focus on clients and sales, will help deliver profitable and qualitative growth in the Group’s target markets as well as added value for clients.
The Chief Operating Officer organisational unit will be created with effect from 1 January 2016 alongside the existing “Chief Executive Officer”, “Client Business” and “Chief Financial Officer & Banking Services” organisational units. The VP Bank Group Board of Directors has appointed Martin C. Beinhoff (45) as Chief Operating Officer and head of the organisational unit, subject to approval by the Financial Market Authority (FMA) Liechtenstein. The 45-year-old German-Swiss dual national has extensive experience within the banking industry, most recently as a member of the Executive Board of Management of Saxo Bank (Switzerland) Ltd., where he worked for seven years. Prior to this, he was Head of the Financial Services M&A team at KPMG and a management consultant for The Boston Consulting Group, focusing predominantly on the financial sector. He holds a degree (lic. oec.) from the University of St. Gallen (HSG) and is a US-Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Financial Risk Manager (FRM). Martin C. Beinhoff takes up his new role at VP Bank on 1 November 2015.
New division of functions
As the fourth member of the expanded Group Executive Management, the Chief Operating Officer will be responsible for Group Information Technology, Group Treasury & Execution and Group Operations. This new alignment will also entail consolidation of key support functions and rigorous optimisation of processes. It also reflects the increased levels of digitisation and growing importance of IT-based processes and solutions both in the intermediaries business and private banking.
As Head of the Chief Financial Officer organisational unit, Siegbert Näscher will be focusing on implementing and managing finance strategy across the Group with a view to consolidating the Group’s financial profile and future planning processes. He will continue to be responsible for Group Finance and Group Risk while performing his new role as Group Chief Risk Officer in line with Basel III requirements.
The restructuring measure will have limited impact on the “Chief Executive Officer” and “Client Business” organisational units, with Chief Executive Officer Alfred W. Moeckli continuing to oversee Business Development, Human Resources, Communications & Marketing and Legal, Compliance & Tax across the Group. As Head of “Client Business”, Christoph Mauchle will continue to be responsible for the Private Banking and Intermediaries segments, VP Fund Solutions, Group Investment, Product & Market Management and the international locations of VP Bank Group.
New board committees in line with Basel III
The Financial Market Authority (FMA), the Liechtenstein regulator, has designated VP Bank as a systemically important bank. It has thus recommended that VP Bank separate its Audit & Risk Management Committee into two committees in compliance with Basel III requirements. The Board of Directors has therefore established an Audit Committee, to be chaired by Michael Riesen, and a Risk Committee, to be chaired by Dr Daniel H. Sigg, with effect from 1 November 2015.
Systematic focus reduces complexity
For Fredy Vogt, Chairman of the Board of Directors of VP Bank Group, improving the organisational and management structure is key to driving profitable growth, as outlined in the 2020 strategy: “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.”
Chief Executive Officer Alfred W. Moeckli adds: “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.”