Vontobel's top private banker for U.S. clients has departed suddenly following a dispute, finews.com reports exclusively.
The Zurich-based bank informed employees late on Wednesday that U.S. wealth management head Deepak Soni (pictured above) will leave his job immediately, a person familiar with the matter told finews.com. A spokesman for the bank confirmed the move.
Soni's departure from the helm of Vontobel Swiss Wealth Advisors is due to differing views of corporate and leadership culture, the person told finews.com, without specifying.
The differences with Soni, who couldn't immediately be reached by finews.com, apparently emerged after the banker made comments that led the firm to withdraw its trust in the top banker, the person said.
U.S.-Regulated
«Vontobel stands for a strong culture which we live every day. Mutual trust and a distinctive and transparent feedback culture is part of that,» a spokesman for the bank said.
The firm set up the VSWA unit to cater to the needs of wealthy Americans seven years ago after U.S. officials began cracking down on Swiss banks offering offshore services in the U.S. The unit is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and has branches in Zurich, Geneva, Dallas, and New York.
Before taking over at VSWA, Soni led Vontobel's Wealth Management Advisors unit. Previously, he worked for Citigroup in business development.
