Looking for Chief Financial Officer. The recruitment announcement which requires “good knowledge of banking regulations” was posted online by Flowbank on February 2. Nearly nine months later, the online bank announced on Wednesday the name of the successor to Stéphanie Ichter, who left last winter. According to a press release published on Allnews, Nicolas Vetsch will take on the role of financial director upon “approval from Finma”, the financial regulator. He is at least the fifth to hold this position as the bank began its commercial activities at the end of 2020.
This appointment of a former CFO of Heritage Bank is among the information released yesterday by Flowbank. The bank also commented on some of the shortcomings highlighted by its auditor, the PwC firm.
These compliance issues are mentioned in its 2022 annual report, published this summer after several months of delay. A report that the Geneva neobank sent to The Agebut she declined to answer our questions about it. “In our opinion, the internal control system [de Flowbank] is not in accordance with Swiss law”: these are the words with which the auditor concludes his analysis of the 2022 figures. Such a remark is considered extremely rare among the country’s financial institutions. Finma declined to respond to this element, stating that it “is in contact with the bank mentioned as part of its supervision”. As usual, declining to comment on any specific cases, the regulator adds that in this type of scenario, it “takes targeted measures to restore legal order”, a spokesperson specifies. These measures can range “from on-site checks to enforcement procedures, including increased surveillance and the appointment of audit officers”.
In its statutory report, PwC adds: “As a result, we cannot confirm the existence of an internal control system relating to the preparation of the annual accounts” within the establishment. On the next line, it nevertheless continues by “recommending to approve the financial statements”.
Another point in the 2022 report: an extraordinary depreciation of 14 million francs that was not justified. Again, the bank did not wish to respond to The Age in this regard. Nevertheless, the general director, Charles-Henri Sabet, indicated to the Geneva Tribune, Wednesday, that this sum was a “significant provision”. It was set aside following an “accounting system configuration error”, after the identification by PwC of “assets which could not be certified”, he adds. The CEO specifies that the bank’s financial department has been restructured since the problem was discovered.
In a dispatch from the AWP, also published on Wednesday, the founder and director also welcomed the increase in revenues, to 32 million francs in 2022. The loss stands at more than 22 million, including 8 million at the operational level. Charles-Henri Sabet then repeated his profitability target for 2023 to the press agency, just as he had articulated it in June in an interview with the AWP. According to him, Flowbank will exceed the mark of “50 million francs in revenue, with a profit between 5 and 10 million” for the current financial year. The CEO is counting on a result of 75 million francs in 2024.
The establishment was recapitalized by its shareholders several times in 2022. The Geneva Tribune indicates that two successive capital increases occurred “before the discovery of the accounting problem”, according to the CEO. The latter ensures that the establishment’s equity has increased from 13 million at the end of 2022 to 51 million today.
In the annual report, the bank actually reports two capital increases last year, for a total of 9.6 million shares with a nominal value of one franc.
The shareholder base of the Pont-Rouge district bank is made up of companies mainly in the hands of Charles-Henri Sabet, the European crypto-asset manager CoinShares (31% of the capital at the end of 2022) or the Geneva financial group Reyl ( 8%).
The bank located in Lancy employs nearly 130 employees. It was founded by the Vaud entrepreneur who had previously created, managed and then sold the online trading portal Synthesis to the Danish group Saxo Bank.
According to Wednesday’s report, “further changes in governance” are expected. The chief investment officer (CIO) has been vacant since February, following the departure of Esty Dwek. At the same time, Sergio Peña left the executive committee, but remained director of sales.
While Flowbank is working on opening a branch in Dubai, the specialized online media Finews announces another change of management on Wednesday, which affects the Zurich branch: Wenzel Mueller has been replaced by Lowis Beuter.
