The Swiss bank snapped up Thomas Pixner, the ex-CEO of Bank am Bellevue, which was recently acquired by Quintet.
Zurich-based Vontobel is hiring Pixner as well as Thomas Blum from Bank am Bellevue, in a bid to expand in the Swiss market, it said in a statement on Monday. Bank am Bellevue was acquired by Quintet, a deal that closed earlier this month.
Both men are being hired as senior relationship managers; Pixner's hire is effective immediately, while Blum joins Vontobel on August 1. The move represents an organic growth push for Vontobel, after the 2018 acquisition of Notenstein La Roche.
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By contrast, Quintet and then-CEO Juerg Zeltner were looking for a way into the Swiss banking market. Quintet snapped up 1.6 billion Swiss francs ($1.7 billion) in Bellevue assets and roughly 20 employees as part of the deal.
The sale left Pixner and Blum with no role at Bellevue, which is now focusing solely on its asset management activities. Vontobel said it will keep investing in technology and hire private bankers selectively
