Edmond de Rothschild is folding its French unit into a Swiss one, delisting its shares, and replacing its CEO. The founding family is taking back control amid a slide in client assets.
The Genevan private bank said it will radically alter its structure by meshing a French Edmond de Rothschild unit into the Rothschild Suisse entity and seek to delist its shares from Switzerland's stock exchange.
Benjamin de Rotschild, the son of the founder, remains chairman of a holding company, while his wife, Ariane de Rothschild, will continue to oversee the Swiss bank. Edmond de Rothschild has appointed Vincent Taupin as the new CEO of the group. Emmanuel Fiévet, who has led the Swiss business, will leave the company. Taupin has been the head of Rothschild's French unit before.
Asset Drop
Rothschild's board is also being shuffled: ex-Credit Suisse executive Klaus Jenny won't stand for reelection. The founding family is taking back control of the Swiss bank amid a roughly 7 percent drop in client assets on the year to 128 billion Swiss francs ($127 billion). Rothschild said the fall was due to poor fourth-quarter markets as well as withdrawals due to reorganizing.
