Société Bancaire Privée SA: new banking licence issued
- Shareholders' General Meeting approves 2007 annual financial statements
- Name to be changed before the end of the year
Geneva, 24 April 2008 - Société Bancaire Privée SA (SWX: SBP) today announced that it had been officially informed by the Swiss Federal Banking Commission (SFBC) that the withdrawal of its banking licence, as advised on 1st March 2007, was no longer applicable. As of today, the Bank therefore has a new, formally issued licence. This decision follows the change in the Bank's main shareholder which occurred at the end of 2007, following the acquisition of the majority of the Bank's shares by the Banca Profilo group, and the complete overhaul of its Board of Directors and senior management team.
On learning the news, Renzo A. Cenciarini, Chairman of Société Bancaire Privée SA's Board of Directors, expressed his very great satisfaction: "The significant changes which have occurred within our company over the last few months have strengthened us, and this decision allows us to regain some room to manoeuvre, and look to the future with confidence and composure."
He added, "With the support of our main shareholder, our ambition now is to bring a new dimension to this institution and to let it develop its business effectively. With this in mind, the Bank is currently finalizing a strategic three-year plan which includes substantial investments. We are therefore not expecting positive results before 2009. As a symbol of this process of renewal, the Board of Directors has decided to give the Bank a new name before the end of 2008."
During the General Meeting which took place yesterday in Geneva, the shareholders also approved the following proposals which were submitted to them:
- Approval of the annual report and the 2007 annual financial statements
- Non-payment of a dividend for the 2007 financial year
- Conversion of the company's registered shares into bearer shares of identical par value of one Swiss franc per share
- Election of Deloitte SA, Geneva, as official auditor of the Group's financial statements for the 2008 financial year
- Change made to Article 1 (One) of the company's articles
Shareholders present at the General Meeting represented 75% of the company's share capital.
For further information:
Société Bancaire Privée
Régis Ducrey, CFO
Tel. +41 22 818 31 31
Mail: info@sbp-banque.ch