Bank Cler
| Company type | Public (formerly) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | October 30, 1927 in Basel, Switzerland |
| Founder | Association of Swiss Consumers (Coop) and Swiss Federation of Trade Unions |
| Headquarters | Basel , Switzerland |
Area served | Switzerland |
| Products | Retail banking services for private clients and SMEs |
| Owner | Basler Kantonalbank (since 2019) |
| Website | www |
Bank Cler is a Swiss financial institution headquartered in Basel, established in 1927. It focuses on providing retail banking services primarily to private clients and small to medium-sized enterprises. Prior to its complete acquisition by Basler Kantonalbank in 2019, its shares were publicly traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange.
History
Founded on 30 October 1927 by the Association of Swiss Consumers (currently known as Coop) alongside the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions, Bank Cler began as a cooperative central bank—referred to as Genossenschaftliche Zentralbank (French: Banque Centrale Coopérative; Italian: Banca Centrale Cooperativa). It transitioned into a stock corporation in 1970.
The institution adopted the name Coop Bank in 1995. On 20 December 1999, Basler Kantonalbank acquired a majority stake, and by 2001, it was renamed Bank Coop. By the conclusion of 2009, Basler Kantonalbank held 57.6% ownership, Coop maintained 10.4%, the Swiss trade unions possessed 5.1%, and the bank itself controlled 1.1%; the remaining shares were publicly available.
In March 2017, Coop divested its remaining shares to Basler Kantonalbank. Subsequently, on 20 May 2017, the bank underwent an extensive rebranding initiative, adopting the name Bank Cler (Banque Cler; Banca Cler), symbolizing clarity and straightforwardness.
On 20 June 2018, Basler Kantonalbank announced its intention to obtain full ownership of Bank Cler. Later that year, in October 2018, Bank Cler received certification for climate neutrality. The SIX Swiss Exchange approved the removal of its shares from trading in November 2018. Beginning September 2019, payment processing operations were outsourced to Swisscom.
Misdelivery of customer statements
In 2013, a software malfunction resulted in annual account statements for approximately 43,000 customers being sent to incorrect recipients; among these, about 31,000 individuals received statements intended for themselves as well as others. In June 2014, Bank Coop revealed that an independent review by Deloitte determined that this incident was caused by a combination of adverse factors and insufficient internal controls.
In October 2014, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) issued a reprimand against Bank Coop for artificially supporting its bearer share prices during the period from 2009 to 2013. The bank engaged in substantial share purchases aimed at preventing price declines, thereby breaching prohibitions against market manipulation and failing organizational duties. As a consequence, FINMA imposed a three-year professional ban on former CEO Andreas Waespi, who had departed from the bank in August 2014.