The Bavarian Cooperative Association (GVB) surprisingly parted ways with its long-term head Jürgen Gros. “The reason for the amicable separation are different ideas about the future direction of the association,” said the GVB in a brief statement on Monday in Munich.
The cooperative association represents the interests of 1,181 Bavarian cooperatives, including 222 Volks- and Raiffeisenbanken. Gros has repeatedly criticized the European Central Bank’s interest rate policy, banking regulation and political guidelines, “arbitrary market intervention, dirigism and planned economy approaches”. Gros has been on the GVB board since 2015, and has been the association’s president and chairman of the board since August 2016. Now the 52-year-old is giving up his post early at the end of the year.
The association appointed Gregor Scheller as his successor. In his more than 40 years of service, he has made the Volks- und Raiffeisenbank Bamberg-Forchheim one of the most successful in Bavaria and has a lot of experience in the committees of the cooperative financial group. The second board member, Alexander Büchel, is also leaving the Bavarian Cooperative Association, but not until the end of January and – unlike Gros – “by mutual agreement”. The 51-year-old Büchel will devote himself to new professional challenges. The GVB announced that his successor would be the auditor Siegfried Drexl. “In the new year the association council will deal intensively with the long-term composition of the board of directors.”