Deal-Ticker: Kellerhals Carrard advises Bank WIR on Capital Increase 2024

On 11 September 2024, 2024, WIR Bank Genossenschaft successfully completed the public offering of its participation certificates with a transaction volume of CHF 30 m. The participation certificates are governed by Swiss law and have been admitted to trading on the organized trading systems OHS-WIR of Bank WIR and OTC-X of Berner Kantonalbank. 

The aim of the capital increase 2024 is to further strengthen the solid capital base and liquidity of Bank WIR to secure future growth and meet the new regulatory requirements. The participation certificates are regulatory Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1)-capital instruments that are issued for strengthening of the equity capital basis purposes. Bank WIR is already excellently capitalized and exceeds the regulatory requirements significantly. However, the new capital requirements adopted by the Federal Council at the end of November 2023 under Basel III, however, will lead to an increase in capital requirements due to the financing mix. 

Kellerhals Carrard acted as exclusive legal counsel advising Bank WIR on all legal aspects of this transaction. The Kellerhals Carrard team consisted of Armin Kühne (Partner, Banking), Luca Bianchi (Partner, Capital Markets), Michael Kremer (Senior Associate, Banking/Capital Markets) and Elga Tozzi (Counsel, Tax).