The British lender is promoting a director of its Swiss bank to run its entire wealth management activities outside the U.K.
London-based Barclays is naming Jean-Christophe Gerard as the CEO of its private bank, with immediate effect, it said in an emailed statement on Thursday. Gerard currently runs Barclays' wealth management head in Europe, is CEO of Monaco, and a board member of its Swiss bank. The appointment is subject to a regulatory nod.
He replaces Karen Frank, who ran the unit for nearly four years. One of Europe's higher-profile female wealth management executives, Frank in June took a job overseeing $47 billion in equities at the teacher's pension plan in Ontario. Her exit followed a major shuffle atop the international unit which houses its private bank.
Three Roles In Three Years
Gerard's promotion is his second in less than three years with Barclays: he originally joined as head of investments in 2017 before taking on the Monaco job last year. Then, he replaced veteran banker Francesco Grosoli, who had left to run Compagnie Monégasque de Banque.
Gerard's 2017 hire was part of a renewed push to bulk up on as many as 100 new staff in its private bank including in London, Geneva, Dubai, and the Channel Islands. In 2016, Barclays sold its Asian wealth management activities to Singapore's OCBC.
Poaching Prominently
In June, Barclays poached Effie Datson from Union Bancaire Privée to run the family office unit of its wealth arm. Last month, it snapped up BNP Paribas banker Melanie Aimer as its head of wealthy client experience. In Switzerland, Barclays swung to a modest profit last year, following several tumultuous years, aided by a disposal.
The performance of its wider private bank is cloaked in secrecy: Barclays quit reporting stand-alone results after moving the unit back into its retail bank in 2013, following a loss. Meanwhile, Jes Staley, the overall CEO, is facing heat from Edward Bramson, an activist investor, over its investment banking strategy.
