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Keystone
![A failed excursion into the pension fund business could be expensive for Schwyzer Kantonalbank.]()
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A failed excursion into the pension fund business could be expensive for Schwyzer Kantonalbank.
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Keystone
![It has a 49 percent stake in a pension fund administrator who was responsible for the insured funds of the Aargau pension fund Phoenix from 2015 to 2016.]()
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It has a 49 percent stake in a pension fund administrator who was responsible for the insured funds of the Aargau pension fund Phoenix from 2015 to 2016.
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Zvg
![Serge Aerne, the founder of PK Phoenix, accuses the PK administrator of accounting errors that would have contributed significantly to a million-dollar gap in the pension fund.]()
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Serge Aerne, the founder of PK Phoenix, accuses the PK administrator of accounting errors that would have contributed significantly to a million-dollar gap in the pension fund.
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AHERGER
![Peter Hilfiker, CEO of Schwyzer Kantonalbank, is jointly responsible for his bank's involvement in the private equity market. He will retire in March.]()
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Peter Hilfiker, CEO of Schwyzer Kantonalbank, is jointly responsible for his bank’s involvement in the private equity market. He will retire in March.
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Zvg
![Now bank president August Benz has to stabilize the Schwyzer Kantonalbank again.]()
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Now bank president August Benz has to stabilize the Schwyzer Kantonalbank again.
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The Schwyzer Kantonalbank (SZKB) is “more stable and profitable than ever before,” said CEO Peter Hilfiker (64) when he presented an annual profit of 75 million francs at the end of January.
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Almost half of them are already on the brink. In the coming days, the SZKB is facing a lawsuit that has it all: Serge Aerne (41), founder of the Aargau pension fund Phoenix, is demanding 30 million francs in damages from the bank. It is the climax of a business crime that only knows losers.
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Pension funds have funds managed – they skim off millions
It had started so promisingly. In 2014, SZKB entered the pension business under its then President Bruno Kennel and CEO Hilfiker. A lucrative market: 1,500 pension funds in Switzerland manage insured funds amounting to 1,000 billion francs. The Schwyzer Kantonalbank wanted a piece of this cake. It took a 49 percent stake in the pension fund administrator Assurinvest. Many pension funds have their money looked after by such companies; they skim off millions with it.
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Assurinvest has been managing the funds of the Phoenix pension fund since the beginning of 2015. But after just a few months, the Board of Trustees warned Assurinvest about irregularities in the administration. In turn, PK founder Serge Aerne accused of insufficiently documented business with related parties. When Assurinvest urged PK Phoenix to merge with another pension fund, the dispute broke out openly. The Board of Trustees declined and announced that Assurinvest would end their cooperation in 2016. Whereupon they sent a risk report to the Aargau Pension Fund Supervisory Authority (BVSA) and requested an investigation.
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“The aim of Assurinvest and SZKB was to dismiss the Board of Trustees,” says PK founder Serge Aerne. “So they wanted to bring about the desired merger and at the same time hide mistakes in the management of the pension fund assets.” The Schwyzer Kantonalbank contradicts: “The threat report had nothing to do with merger efforts. The auditors and the supervision of the various pension funds have always found Assurinvest’s work to be good. “
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“This is how the legislature wants it”
In 2016 PK Phoenix and Assurinvest parted ways. But the supervisory authority continued to investigate the threat report – vehemently: Between 2017 and 2018, it tried three times to remove the board of trustees of PK Phoenix. However, the Federal Supreme Court and the Federal Administrative Court threw off all three attempts. In 2019, the BVSA managing director had to go on strike.
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Manfred Hüsler (59), Director of the OAK BV in Bern, oversees the cantonal and regional supervisory authorities. He finds the multiple attempts at deposition unusual. Just: “The supervisory authority has no competence to intervene with a supervisory authority in individual cases,” says Hüsler. “That is how the legislature wants it.”
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Incorrect postings in the management of pension fund assets
From 2017 to 2019, an administrator appointed by the supervisory authority managed PK Phoenix’s business. When the Board of Trustees resumed its work in 2019, it noticed a cash hole of twelve million francs – the dispute finally escalated: PK Phoenix and Assurinvest accuse each other of being responsible for the millions that had disappeared.
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The cantonal bank refers to a report by the administrator from 2017: “It shows that properties that were built by Serge Aerne’s family had to be devalued and loans to related parties had to be written down.” In addition, a portfolio of pensioners was taken over at unfavorable conditions – with high provisions as a result. “This is how the million hole came about.”
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The PK Phoenix sees it differently. In 2020 she commissioned a forensic investigation report, which came to the conclusion: In 2015 and 2016 there were incorrect postings in the management of pension fund assets. “These were undoubtedly made in the period when Assurinvest was managing the cash register,” says Serge Aerne. “You’re responsible for most of the hole in the till. The rest is due to the administrative and legal consequences of the attacks by Assurinvest and SZKB. ” The attacks had massively damaged the pension fund and himself, says Aerne. Therefore he will now demand compensation.
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The question of guilt remains open
Daniel Werdenberg (47), on the other hand, managing director of Assurinvest, is certain: “The 2015 and 2016 financial statements were correct. There were no incorrect bookings. “
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The question of guilt remains open. Schwyzer Kantonalbank has already had to write off ten million francs on the PK investment. In 2019, President Kennel resigned because of the affair. There has been no political earthquake to this day. The supervisory commission for the Schwyzer Kantonalbank currently sees no reason for an investigation. Its President, Cantonal Councilor Alexander Lacher (44), says: “The alleged irregularities do not affect the SZKB, but the PK Phoenix.”
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Risks can hardly be calculated
SZKB’s failed foray into the pensions business is not an isolated case. “As banks earn less and less from traditional business, they are looking for alternatives,” says Mathias Binswanger (58), economics professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Northwestern Switzerland. “But you have to think about whether state banks should not prohibit such activities in the social security sector.” The risks are hardly calculable. “The state guarantee is actually being abused.”
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SZKB still has a 49 percent stake in Assurinvest. CEO Hilfiker will retire in March. He leaves the cleaning up to President August Benz (50). Bruno Kennel’s successor must restore the stability that his CEO spoke of when he presented the annual profit.
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Published: 02/07/2021, 12:55 a.m.–
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