The Swiss wealth manager is boosting its business with Hispanic Americans by poaching from Credit Suisse.

Zurich-based Julius Baer is hiring Philipp Frischknecht as a team head for the Hispanic American market, effective February 1. Frischknecht most recently ran Credit Suisse's private banking international segment for Latin America.

He is one of five Credit Suisse bankers that Julius Baer is poaching – Ricardo Amorin, Juergen Ritz, Horacio Ruiz Moreno, and Alejandro Moreno Basols – as well as Rodolfo Lizárraga Delgado, who is BBVA team head for Peru in Zurich.

Show Of Assertion

The move is a show of assertion from Julius Baer, which is in arrears on its Latin American growth plans, due in part to an unwieldy clean-up sparked by Venezuelan graft scandal PDVSA. The Swiss bank was heavily sanctioned one year ago by its home regulator, Finma.

«These hires underscore Julius Baer’s long-term commitment to the region Americas,» Americas head Beatriz Sanchez (pictured below) said. «We will continue to invest in the region in order to support business growth in our designated markets and key client segments.»

sanchez beatriz

The new team will cover Chile, Argentina, Peru, and Colombia, and report to sub-region head Andrea Cuomo, a key lieutenant of Sanchez and also an ex-Credit Suisse private banker. Julius Baer doesn't publicly disclose its Latin American assets, but Sanchez stanched the bleeding of assets in the region last year.

She was hired from Goldman Sachs three years ago, largely to build a platform in Miami as a bridgehead for wealthy South Americans. The United States is the only blank spot on the map for the Swiss wealth manager, besides onshore China.