Basler Kantonalbank (BKB) is merging its services to corporate clients in a new dedicated business unit, allowing the bank to exploit synergies and boost its potential in the sector, the company said in a statement on Monday evening.

In addition to this newly created unit, BKB will also reorganize the services division and create a unit dedicated to corporate organizational matters. The new organization will cut the number of executive board members by one.

Boosting Efficiency

The main aim of the changes is to integrate the services to commercial clients in one business unit, to speed up decision-making, exploit the room for a more efficient organization and enhance the growth potential.

The corporate clients business will be managed by Luca Pertoldi (head of trade and institutional clients and member of the executive board). He will be in charge of both units until the new structures is being implemented in the autumn.

Armin Landerer, head of corporate clients, is leaving the bank after managing the business for the past three years.

New Service Unit

The bank also wants to relieve the units charged with client contacts from duties that are not directly linked to operative purposes. To do so, BKB will refocus the Competence Center Services unit and collect all those functions in that unit.

Michael Eisenrauch is taking charge of the unit, replacing Peter Gertsch. Gertsch is leaving BKB, having joined in 2000 and after developing the institute's IT in the past sixteen years. Eisenrauch has been at the bank since 2009 and most recently managed the strategic project and process management. He will also take a seat on the executive board of BKB.

The executive board will comprise following six members as of today: Guy Lachappelle (CEO), Simone Westerfeld (finances and risk), Christian Schöniger (legal and compliance), Dominik Galliker (private customers), Luca Pertoldi (corporate customers) and Eisenrauch (Competence Center Services).