Die Governance von PostFinance – Zwischen Grundversorgungsauftrag, Systemrelevanz und Kreditverbot

This article deals with the governance of PostFinance, a financial institute held by the Swiss Post. PostFinance has on one hand a service obligation for basic payment transaction services. On the other hand, PostFinance is banned from the credit and mortgage business and has to operate on a restricted business model. On top, PostFinance is qualified as a systemically important financial institution in Switzerland. Swiss Post has developed a specific governance model for PostFinance in order to function within the described framework. The model has proved practical even though certain disadvantages are linked to it. The restriction of the business model in particular represents a major disadvantage for PostFinance. A bank that has to fulfil all regulatory requirements, but is not allowed to operate in all business areas of a bank and which, in addition, has to provide a basic service and finance this service itself, will perform less well in a sector comparison in terms of returns…