Since taking over as chairman of Raiffeisen in November, Guy Lachappelle has been clear enough about his goal, and that is the restoration of credibility of the bank. A goal that he incidentally shares with his 11,000 members of staff, who were watching from the sidelines as events unfolded in 2018.

Some of the vital decisions have already been taken and measures applied: the supervisory board has been replaced. Lachappelle appointed Heinz Huber as his new chief executive. And all the top brass of the pre-2015 era are gone: Michael Auer, Gabriele Brun, Beat Hodel, Paulo Bruegger and Roland Schaub, the general secretary.

Damages May Be Sought

Last week, the bank published the report compiled by Bruno Gehrig. Raiffeisen had asked the former central banker to look into the Vincenz affair, to identify what went wrong and define measures to be taken. His probe was running in parallel with the enforcement report by Finma, the financial market regulator.

Lachappelle and the board have already agreed to a string of measures that aimed at improved the internal control mechanisms and boost governance. The chairman is also looking into the chances of reclaiming money that the bank lost as a consequence of the Vincenz affair. Raiffeisen will post a write-off worth some 300 million Swiss francs ($302.5 million) in 2018 to cover for the problems with the stakes it acquired in the Vincenz era.

Charges Expected

People close to Lachappelle said that he sees the eventual charges leveled against Vincenz by the prosecution in Zurich and the ensuing trial as the last and most important step toward a new start at Raiffeisen.

Lachappelle expects charges to be filed before the summer break, the people said. The fact that Gehrig didn’t unearth any criminal acts by Vincenz or his entourage in his report didn’t alter Lachappelle’s view about the expected outcome of the prosecutor's case – even as some media reports had indicated that there might be no charges forthcoming after all.

Gehrig Report Not Key for Charges Filed