BCV's new organizational structure

STREAMLINED, AND IN LINE WITH THE BANK'S SIZE AND CORE AREAS OF EXPERTISE

BCV has decided to restructure its Executive Board and Divisions, effective immediately, in order to streamline operations. The new organizational structure focuses on the Bank's core areas of expertise: wealth & asset management, corporate banking, and retail banking. Jacques R. Meyer has been appointed to head the Retail Division and has been named associate Member of the Executive Board.

As was promised at the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders held the 30th of October, the Executive Board can now make public the Bank's new organizational structure, as approved by the Board of Directors on 14 November 2002. These important changes, valid as of 15 November 2002, will substantially improve the Bank's management and streamline operations. With regards to staffing levels, the 10%-to-15% targeted cut (from about 2,000 to 1,800) by the end of 2004, announced a few months ago, remains in effect, although the target numbers may be reviewed in the first quarter of 2003, once the Bank's strategy for the coming years is in the design phase.

BCV's strategic reflections were underpinned by three key ideas:

• The Bank must refocus on its core areas of expertise, which are its main assets
  • Retail Banking
  • Corporate Banking
  • Wealth and Asset Management
• The Bank's organizational and operational structures must be efficient, appropriate to the Bank's size, and designed in terms of our core business areas
• The Bank must change its corporate culture with regard to risk management These central ideas are the basis of the following organizational structure, which is composed of six divisions:

Finance and Risks Division

Pierre Fischer, Vice-President of the Executive Board, heads this division, whose main objective will be to manage the various instruments employed for the Bank's strategic and financial management, with special emphasis on risk management. As regards risk management, the Executive Board intends to implement a fundamental change in the Bank's corporate culture, strengthening and professionalizing the way BCV manages the risks inherent in the banking business (including credit risks, market risks, and operational risks).

The most significant major change entailed by this is that the risk management group, headed by Thomas Paulsen, and the special affairs group (chief yet to be appointed), will be placed within this division, which itself is separated from and independent of the Bank's business units. This "firewall" within the Bank's organizational structure is perfectly in line with all the relevant standards of Best Practice, and BCV's structures will thus already comply with the regulations on corporate governance that will soon be imposed upon all Swiss banks by the upcoming New Basel Capital Accord (Basel II).

Corporate Division

Ralph Ziegler will run this division, which is broken down into the following key areas: developing our relations with small businesses (SME's), growing business with large corporations, inter-bank operations and international financing, and finally, credit management and administration.

Wealth Management Division

This Division, headed by Jacques Brossard, comprises two main areas of business: Private Banking, for individual clients, and Asset Management, for institutional clients. The Division also covers external asset management, investment policy, relations with our subsidiaries and Financial Planning.

The synergetic potential of having Private Banking and Asset Management within the same Division and the advantages this entails in terms of continuity in our client relationships are the two factors behind the decision to place Asset Management within the new PB&AM Division.

Retail Division

Our retail network is one of BCV's main assets, and we have therefore decided that there should be a Division specifically for this activity, as was the case before. The Retail Division will be run by Jacques R. Meyer, who has been appointed joint member of the Executive Board, effective immediately.

Two new departments have been created in order to keep apace with the changing needs of our clientele. The Center Region has thus been carved up into two new regions: Lausanne-City and Lausanne-Suburbs. We thus now have five regional departments, with the East, West, and North Regions.

Trading Division

No major changes involve this Division. Olivier Cavaleri is in charge of the Trading Division, which is made up of the Equity, Currency, and Rates Departments.

Logistics Division

This Division, headed by Philippe Sauthier, covers the following areas, which have not changed: Organization and IT, Real Estate, Infrastructures and General Services, Trading Back-Office, and Payments Back-Office. In addition, the Marketing and E-services departments have been placed within this division.

President of the Executive Board

In order to have direct access to all the resources he needs to run the Bank, BCV's CEO, Alexandre Zeller, desired that the following departments be directly subordinated to him: Human Resources, Compliance, Legal, Secretary General and Communications.

The restructuring plan has also resulted in a significantly strengthened Compliance Department, which will be run by Bernard Kraehenbuhl, BCV's Chief Compliance Officer.

BCV News

Three enquiries will be conducted, simultaneously, on the Bank: the judicial investigation, as well as the administrative and parliamentary enquiries, will of course entail the participation of some Bank staff members, and the Bank has set up an in-house task force to handle this matter. The Bank will, of course, comply fully with its legal obligations, and more particularly with those relating to the protection of its clients, but it nevertheless has made clear its intention to cooperate fully and transparently with these probes.

Here are the most important upcoming events likely to be the subject of press releases by the Bank:

Goals for 31 March 2003

• Capital Increase fully implemented
• New Organizational Structure fully implemented on all levels
• New Strategic Approach made public

Lausanne, 15 November 2002

Contact(s)

Daniel Herrera, Head of Communications
Phone +41 844 228 228
E-mail