Zeltner and his wealth boss, Jakob Stott, have even hired their respective UBS secretaries as well as an expert on glitzy events for UBS' super-rich clients. KBL has also poached from rivals: the bank hired Swiss-based J.P. Morgan veteran Fanny Lavigne last month. A spokesman for KBL confirmed the hires.
Swiss «Base Camp»
In five months, KBL bought a Swiss bank and set up a «base camp» in Zurich run by Kamber-Borens (pictured below). KBL will move into prestigious Bahnhofstrasse offices before the deal closes early next year.
All told, KBL aims to hire several dozen «partners» in its expansion bid. The bank currently employs roughly 2,000 people, which isn’t expected to bulge considerably, one person said. However, the expansion push means KBL will shift resources away from Luxembourg, where currently more than one-third of staff are based.
KBL plans to expand into the Middle East as well as Asia after rounding out Switzerland and the Nordics, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The how and when of a potential move isn’t yet clear, the people said – and KBL looks likely to primarily pick up bankers and teams, and not aim to build local booking platforms.
Homegrown Woes
Zeltner also has several homegrown problems: the most pressing is loss-making subsidiary Merck Finck. The 149-year-old German private bank's assets recovered to 10 billion at mid-year, after hiring 30 new private bankers, a spokesman for Merck Finck told finews.com.
To be sure, KBL and other foreign-owned European private banks have already tried to do what Zeltner is now undertaking – but on a considerably shorter timeline. Through its sovereign wealth fund, Qatar owns sizable stakes in Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, and has also snapped up assets including London landmark the Shard and Harrods department store.
Qataris in Driver's Seat
An embarrassing setback last month illustrates the boundaries of the alliance – and who is in the driver’s seat. Led by Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the family had dispatched Zeltner to Frankfurt to help oversee their investment in Deutsche Bank.
He left after just two months, after German regulators threatened to nix the move. The Deutsche back-and-forth aside, Zeltner likely has more time to spread his wings in Luxembourg.
- << Back
- Page 2 of 2
