Julius Baer bumped up two senior British bankers, underscoring its recent push in the U.K. wealth management market.
The Zurich-based private bank named Jamie Banks as its head of wealth planning in the U.K., it said in a statement on Wednesday. Banks replaces Alan Hooks, who is being promoted to the head of Julius Baer's London operations overall.
The move reinforces how heavily the Swiss private bank has moved on the British market in the last two years: undeterred by Brexit, U.K. head David Durlacher has splashed out on a hiring spree at the expense of rivals like Barclays. Julius Baer doesn't disclose its assets from U.K. clients, but in February said it contributed heavily to its 17.4 billion Swiss francs ($17.5 billion) in net new money last year.
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Banks joined Julius Baer four years ago from Deutsche Bank, where he was head of wealth planning in the U.K. Hooks, a former Bofa Merrill Lynch wealth manager, is to manage Julius Baer's private bankers in London and work with Calum Brewster, the bank's head of U.K. regions.
«As we continue to grow our presence across the U.K., wealth planning remains a strategic priority for the business and must play an integral part in conversations with clients,» U.K. head Durlacher said. Western Europe makes for roughly one-quarter of the bank's 382 billion francs in client assets.
