Fritz Klein, a popular and well-known figure on the global secuirities services scene, has been elected as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of CLS Group and CLS Bank International (CLS Bank). Klein, who is Executive Director and Head of Group Services & Strategic Projects at SIS Group, was nominated by Credit Suisse First Boston for the CLS Board.
“In the ten months since launch, the CLS Bank service has gone from strength to strength, with increasing volumes and growing numbers of Settlement Members and third parties (i.e., customers of Settlement Members) using the service,” says Klein. “The challenge now is to build on this excellent start and to continue to deliver a world-class settlement service that provides the market with ever increasing value. I am looking forward to the challenge and taking the CLS Group into the next successful stage of its development.”
Klein succeeds Suzanne Labarge, Vice Chairman at Royal Bank of Canada, who has chaired the CLS Group and CLS Bank since June 2001. During her tenure, Labarge saw CLS Bank actually launch its much-delayed service in September 2002. “Suzanne’s tenure has encompassed the most important period in the Group’s history,.” says Joseph De Feo, Chief Executive Officer of CLS Group and President and Chief Executive Officer of CLS Bank. “She has overseen the critical period leading up to the roll-out and launch of CLS Bank, and the evolution of the Group from a technical project into a fully commercial organisation. In this time the Group has also established strategic objectives that will enable the CLS Group to build on the success to date and to provide ever-growing value for its shareholders and users of the service. In addition, CLS Group has also broadened its shareholder base and announced enhancements to the CLS Bank service, with six new currencies planned subject to CLS Bank and regulatory approval, and an enhancement that will enable custodians to settle their fund management client’s foreign exchange transactions through CLS Bank. We are pleased to have someone as capable and experienced as Fritz to take over at a very exciting time for the CLS Group. We now move into the next phase of CLS Group’s development, as we look to build volume, bring on more Settlement Members and shareholders, and develop the service further.”