Annual Report 2005 - Bank am Bellevue

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Annual Report 2005
Corporate governance
8. Change of control and defense measures
The purchaser or acquirer of shares of Swissfirst AG is not required to
issue a public offer as stipulated by Art. 32 and 52 of the Federal Act
on Stock Exchanges and Securities Trading (“opting out” as per Art. 22
para. 2 SESTA).
Swissfirst Group complies with the ad-hoc disclosure rules of SWX.
Information and communications duties are primarily performed by the
Investor Relations Office. All press releases can be downloaded from the
Internet (www.swissfirst.ch).
In compliance with the provisions of Art. 29 SESTA, the Board of Directors
will publish a notification if a public bid for all Swissfirst shares
has been received. As prescribed by law, no significant legal transactions
will be effected from the moment a public offer has been received.
Contact addresses are listed on the final page of the Annual Report.
11. Material events after the balance sheet date
There have been no material events since the balance sheet date.
The period of notice for employees in Switzerland is always two months.
In Liechtenstein the maximum period is six months.
9. Auditors
The auditors of Swissfirst Group are appointed for a term of one year.
With the exception of Swissfirst Bank (Liechtenstein) AG (“SFL”) all
companies are audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers (“PwC”). PwC has
been the Group auditor since 1999 and prior to that it served as the
auditor for the former ZFP Financial Products AG since the latter’s establishment
in 1994. SFL has been audited by Deloitte AG (“Deloitte”)
ever since its establishment in 1998.
The auditor in charge of the Swissfirst AG, Swissfirst Bank AG and
Bank am Bellevue AG, Küsnacht, audit is Albert Schönenberger and he
has exercised this function as of the 2004 business year.
Auditing fees paid to PwC in the 2005 business year amounted to a total
of CHF 365,011. PwC billed CHF 236,803 for additional services rendered
(Corporate Finance and Tax).
The auditing fees paid to Deloitte amounted to CHF 126,096 in the 2005
business year. Deloitte billed CHF 88,393 for additional services rendered
(Corporate Finance).
Each year, a detailed report is drawn up in accordance with banking law
for both Swissfirst Bank AG, Zurich, Bank am Bellevue AG, Küsnacht,
and Swissfirst Bank (Liechtenstein) AG, Vaduz, and submitted to the responsible
regulatory authorities in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The
Board of Directors is bound by law to review these reports at its meetings.
10. Information policy
Swissfirst AG publishes quarterly figures on a quarterly basis in compliance
with IFRS accounting standards. These can be accessed at the
website www.swissfirst.ch
The quarterly reports (3) and the annual report are also available to all
interested parties in printed form.