Executive Board

Responsibilities

According to the General Regulations, which comply with the provisions of the Banking Law, the Executive Board is responsible as a collective body for the overall management of BCF’s business. The Executive Board consists of the CEO and five other members who report to the CEO.

Luc Jacquat joined the Executive Board on 1 January 2023 as Head of Finance. On 1 March 2023, Laurent Wicky joined the Executive Board as Head of the Corporate Clients division, replacing Denis Galley, who left the Bank in October 2023.

The Corporate Center has been strengthened by the creation of the Head of Communications and the Head of Corporate Development functions. It now also includes the Marketing & Sponsorship business unit (BU). The Corporate Clients division has integrated the services of a BU Corporate Support, while the BU Institutional Clients and External Asset Managers has joined the Private Clients division.

Over the past 12 months, BCF has continued to develop its business models.

BCF has five divisions and has structured both front office units uniformly around both the Corporate Clients and Private Clients segments. These two units are supplemented by the Products and Services, Finance, and Legal, Risk and Compliance divisions.

The powers of the Executive Board are defined in Article 33 of the BCF Law.

In particular, the Executive Board has the following responsaibilities:

• is responsible for the proper functioning and development of the Bank and to maintain unity in managing the Bank’s affairs;
• issues advance warning on matters to be submitted to the Board of Directors;
• sets the interest rates;
• hires the Bank’s employees and determines their salaries within the guidelines of the salary policy defined by the Board of Directors; it may also dismiss them;
• decides on the purchase and sale of real estate mortgaged to the Bank in the event of a compulsory sale.

Internal organisation

The tasks of the Executive Board are distributed among the members by the Chairman. As a rule, the Executive Board meets once a week.

Rules on authorised activities

Acceptance of any other officer position (in the highest management or administrative body of a legal entity, associations, charitable foundations, family foundations and employee benefit foundations, etc.) is always subject to approval by the Board of Directors.

Management contracts

There are no management contracts between the Bank and external companies.

Compensation system

The BCF compensation policy applies to all employees of the Bank. It describes the principles, objectives and process for determining compensation. For BCF, compensation is an important component in attracting, motivating and retaining qualified employees with the necessary knowledge and experience.

Principles

Continuity and equal treatment are extremely important aspects of BCF’s compensation policy. Salary levels and hiring conditions are regularly compared with trends in the labor market and with cantonal banks of comparable size. The salary system is designed to exclude any gender discrimination. To this end, BCF regularly conducts equal pay analyses. The studies conducted in 2020 and 2022 showed that we at the Bank abide by the principle of equal pay for men and women. These analyses were verified by the Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) and were confirmed when the Bank was issued the «Fair-ON-Pay+» label.

Compensation components

Compensation consists of a base salary («fixed salary»), performance bonus («variable bonus»), pension contributions and family allowances.

Compensation depends on the employee’s function. Consequently, their fixed salary is based on each employee’s skill level and falls within the framework of salary scales defined by function.

The performance bonus is a share in BCF’s net profits and represents a gesture of the Bank’s goodwill. It is determined according to individual performance and the Bank’s profit results and may vary over time.

It is based on system of management by objectives. Each year, individual objectives (contributions, competencies, risk and conduct) are defined for every employee and are formally documented in the qualification system (annual performance appraisal). All of these criteria, which are weighted differently
depending on the function, are taken into account when measuring individual performance.

Powers and determination process

Based on a recommendation of the Executive Board, the Board of Directors determines the total amount of salary adjustments and the annual performance bonus each year. In doing so, it takes into account the Bank’s financial results (for example, performance indicators such as changes in income, operating profit and the cost/income ratio), as well as other criteria, such as the economic environment and inflation.

The maximum amount of the performance bonus, variable compensation, and the maximum amount of the individual bonus for each function are linked to fixed salaries.

Employees

Each year, the heads of the divisions and organizational units recommend salary increases and performance bonuses for their employees, in accordance with the instructions issued by the Executive Board. The performance bonus is based on a reference value and takes into account the employee’s individual performance and conduct. The bonus is paid in March of the following year. Social security contributions, occupational pension provisions and family allowances are regulated.

Executive Board

The compensation of the Chairman of the Executive Board and each member of the Executive Board is aligned with the average compensation of a reference group chosen by the Bank’s Board of Directors.

The variable bonus is determined based on the individual performance of the members of the Executive Board and the Bank’s business performance. As for the employees, the bonus amount is determined by a model that takes into account whether the individual goals and overall objectives set for the Bank are achieved.

The bonus is paid in March of the following year. For 2023, the compensation paid to members of the Executive Board totaled CHF 3,431,000. This amount reflects the expansion of the Executive Board to six members as well as early settlement of the succession of a retiring member of the Executive Board. Social security contributions, occupational pension provisions and family allowances are regulated.

Other employment conditions

The Bank pays all expenses associated with engaging in BCF’s business activity. In order to simplify procedures, lump-sum expenses are paid to a defined group of employees.

BCF grants special terms and conditions to all employees, including the Executive Board, on all the Bank’s services. With respect to loans, the preferential interest rate is in line with the industry and the amount is capped. The Board of Directors decides whether to grant loans or extend credit to
members of the Executive Board.

Board of Directors

The members of the Board of Directors are compensated for their services on the Board and the Board committees with a basic lump sum, directors’ fees and, where appropriate, a lump sum for additional duties in accordance with Article 18 of the BCF Law. For loans, BCF grants all members of the Board of Directors the same terms and conditions as employees, i.e. a preferential interest rate in line with the industry, applied to a capped amount. In 2023, the compensation paid to members of the Board of Directors totaled CHF 1,086,000.