UBS' top private banker in Germany is defecting to a rival boutique – the latest in a series of changes at the unit. UBS is installing an investment banker to oversee its wealth management in the country.
UBS private banker Marcus Stollenwerk (pictured below) is leaving UBS for a management role at Flossbach von Storch, the Cologne-based wealth manager said, confirming a report by German trade publication «Private Banking Magazin» (in German).
Stollenwerk's exit is noteworthy because it follows a series of other exits at UBS' German wealth management arm including that of Barbara Rupf Bee for Allianz. Stollenwerk was promoted to the top German wealth job just five months ago, as finews.com reported.
Dual Role
Stollenwerk is being replaced by Tobias Vogel, who runs the investment banking arm of UBS Europe (the Swiss bank's Frankfurt-based European hub). This puts UBS' private bank in one of its largest European markets in the hands of Vogel, an investment banker who spent the bulk of his career in London.
«By bundling responsibility for wealth management and the investment bank, we can foster closer links between the two to the benefit on not only our teams but ultimately our clients as well,» Christine Novakovic, who runs UBS' wealth arm in the wider region, said according to the report.
Cost-Cutting Measure?
Stollenwerk's departure is the latest in a seemingly endless merry-go-round in Germany. Rupf Bee was quickly followed out the door by European boss Thomas Rodermann, reportedly amid a turf war with Novakovic.
In fact, Rodermann likely simply didn't deliver the result UBS desired: the unit posted another loss in Germany last year, amid a collapse in profit from its Europe bank. The move to give the baton to an investment banker may be a simple cost-cutting measure to save on dual leadership roles.
