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So, he does not want to. On Thursday evening, Pascal Gantenbein announced that he was withdrawing his candidacy at the Raiffeisen Office. He wanted to finish his job as acting director of the board of directors without being subjected to any election campaign.
The backlash has a longer history. In the spring, Gantenbein was repeatedly asked to take over the presidency after the transition period. As he was torn apart, his changing responses show. "In principle, I am ready to consider such a commitment," he said in mid-April, "NZZ am Sonntag". Only nine days later, he answered the same question on Swiss television: "I do not foresee a long-term presidency." The dangerous double jump followed six days later in the SonntagsZeitung. He leaves it open explicitly as he continues as president.
After the delegates meeting in Lugano, he at least created clarity and officially announced his candidacy. But even here, he was not very adept. For during the meeting he left his decision open by avoiding questions from the delegates. It was only then that he announced at a press conference to run for election. He irritated some delegates. One of the "Switzerland on weekends" stated that he had disqualified for his work as a secret.
The proximity of Noch Raiffeisen's boss, Patrik Gisel, was even more difficult. Both are said to have an almost symbiotic relationship. So Gantenbein took the boss several times in protection. There would be no reason to replace Gisel.
Not only among the delegates there were doubts about Gantenbein, apparently also on the board of directors. He received two new members at the June meeting of delegates with Rolf Walker and Thomas Rauber. The latter has since been Chairman of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee. He leads the search for a new president. The candidate is known in principle, said Rauber the industry portal "Inside Paradeplatz" this week. It will be announced in mid-August.
Abandonment was unavoidable
Gantenbein had to realize that he was not elected. A combat election would be very unusual for any company, in the case of the beleaguered Raiffeisen Bank wanted to prevent a medial led contest probably at any price. Gantenbein was deeply concerned that everything he did was only judged on the basis of his candidacy, says a Raiffeisen banker who knows the president's election process. Gantenbein's renunciation was finally inevitable.
A candidate for the presidency is, among others, former Swiss Life boss Bruno Pfister. Another promising candidate is Roland Ledergerber. He has been managing St. Galler Kantonalbank for a good ten years. Urs Rüegsegger, former boss of the SIX exchange operator, and Antoinette Hunziker-Ebneter, president of the Cantonal Bank of Bern, are the possible candidates.
Five new members of the board of directors
Raiffeisen is not the only chairman of the board of directors. After the exodus of board members who were already serving at the time of Pierin Vincenz, the Raiffeisen Supervisory Board is currently understaffed. According to the statutes of the bank, the body must have at least nine members. The maximum can be twelve. For the moment, there are only seven. To make matters worse, Philippe Moeschinger, Daniel Lüscher and Urs Schneider resign at the extraordinary meeting in the autumn. Then, five new boards of directors must be elected: a president and four full members
The bank's bylaws also define what newcomers must bring with them. New members should complement and expand the skills of the board. In addition, half of the board will be composed of representatives of Raiffeisen banks. However, this rule has not been respected in the past. Of the remaining four members of the Board of Directors, only Rauber newly elected, elected in June, sits on the board of directors of a Raiffeisen regional cooperative. This further complicates the search for new members.
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