Vontobel has filled the vacancy at its U.S. arm following a sudden departure five weeks ago. The unit's new head is at home in the world of rich Americans.
The mystery surrounding why Deepak Soni left the Swiss bank suddenly hasn't been cleared up: the banker and longtime head of Swiss Wealth Advisors, or VSWA, parted ways with Vontobel in January, as finews.com reported exclusively.
Now, the Zurich-based bank has elevated the U.S. unit's man in Geneva, Patrice Humbel, to run the wider business, effective on March 15. Humbel replaces Roger Scherer, operating chief of VSWA who replaced Soni temporarily. Scherer was named deputy head of the unit.
Natural Choice
Humbel is the natural choice: for the past five years, the Swiss banker has run VSWA in Geneva, one of four branches alongside Zurich, Dallas and New York. Vontobel was one of the first Swiss firms to push an onshore expansion in the U.S., as Swiss banks began withdrawing from the business of offshore private banking for wealthy Americans.
In 2013, the bank opened a branch in Dallas, where booms in energy, finance, transportation, international trade as well as defense spending have bolstered wealth. Last June, the VSWA unit opened a branch in New York.
Rubbing Elbows
Two years ago, Humbel told Swiss newspaper «L'Agefi» (in French, behind paywall) that Vontobel wanted to open branches in Florida and California as well. The wealth hot spots are familiar hunting ground for the long-standing private banker: Humbel ran UBS' Beverly Hills branch office as well as one in Santa Barbara.
He is also at home in the glitzy world of society parties and art fairs, as photos of the Swiss banker dancing with his wife, PR advisor Alexandra Humbel-du Cluzeau, at an art gala in Fort Lauderdale show (pictured below).
(Image: NSU Art Museum)
Growth Needed
Clearly, Vontobel wants more growth from the unit: «We want to take the business with North American clients to a new level and systematically continue its expansion,» overall private bank head Georg Schubiger said in a statement. «North America is one of Vontobel’s growth markets.»
The bank could use a fillip in the U.S.: its net new assets from its combined wealth management activities stagnated.
