Germann Wiggli is the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bank WIR
The elections to the Board of Directors were the focus of this year's Annual General Meeting of Bank WIR, which was held in the form of a ballot as in 2024. Germann Wiggli was elected as the new Chairman, succeeding Marc Reimann. Two new members, Daniel Hug and Yvonne Seiler Zimmermann, were elected to this body. An increase in the dividend was also approved.
As in the previous year, the 2025 Annual General Meeting of Bank WIR was held in the form of a ballot with electronic voting. Back in February, the Swiss cooperative bank was able to announce record results for the 2024 financial year: an annual profit of CHF 17.5 million, further growth in mortgage loans and customer deposits and total assets of CHF 6.6 billion make the year another milestone in the company's development, according to the statement.
Becoming the bank for SMEs
Bank WIR has developed into a comprehensive main bank for Swiss SMEs and now offers solutions in the areas of accounts/card (incl. TWINT), savings, pensions, investments and financing. The attractive interest-bearing "savings account plus" and the free "top banking package", with which the bank has declared war on hidden fees in banking - including a fee-free debit card - are particularly noteworthy. And since December, VIAC Invest - a product from the fintech company VIAC, which belongs to Bank WIR - has offered customers simple and inexpensive access to free securities savings.
Based on last year's record result, the Annual General Meeting approved the Board of Directors' (BoD) proposal to increase the dividend by 2.3% to CHF 11 per share. The distribution will again be made as an optional dividend ("dividend with reinvestment" or cash distribution) and corresponds to a cash dividend yield of over 2.2 percent. The distribution on participation certificates held as private assets remains tax-free.
General elections of the Board of Directors
Marc Reimann stepped down from the Board of Directors due to the term limit. The members of the Cooperative elected Germann Wiggli as the new Chairman. Wiggli has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2019 and previously held a management position at Bank WIR for many years, including as CEO from 2006 to 2019. "Currently, stability and innovative strength are equally in demand," comments Germann Wiggli. "Bank WIR is in an excellent position to create long-term added value for its clients, even in a challenging environment."
Daniel Hug and Yvonne Seiler Zimmermann were newly elected to the Board of Directors. Daniel Hug (58) is the owner and managing director of an independent wealth advisory firm with an affiliated fiduciary company in Zurich and an auditor. Yvonne Seiler Zimmermann (49) is Professor of Finance at the Institute of Financial Services Zug IFZ at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. The re-election of existing Board members Christoph Lenz (since 2021), Philipp Berger (since 2022), Michael Benes and Chantal Lutz (both since 2023) was undisputed. Heinz Fuchs was not available for a further term of office due to his planned retirement.
Source: Bank WE
