Qatari-backed wealth manager Quintet has lost a swath of executives in Switzerland, finews.com has learned.
At least seven executives and bankers have left Quintet's Swiss private bank in recent months, several people familiar with the matter told finews.com. They include Anke Werner, Dirk Dillinger, and Eva Selamlar, Swiss operating, finance, and legal chiefs, respectively.
Other departures include that of Thomas Siegenthaler and Kris Tegg, who both held roles at the Quintet parent group as credit chief and head of offering and distribution, respectively. A senior quant researcher as well as a Geneva-based relationship manager for Middle East clients has also left. A Quintet spokesman confirmed the seven exits.
Raft of Changes
The departures, many of which were reported on Tuesday by «Inside Paradeplatz» (in German), come amid sweeping changes at the Luxembourg-based parent which is owned by Qatar's ruling al Thani family. Qatar's sovereign wealth fund is the largest shareholder in Credit Suisse and pumped money into the Swiss bank a $1.9 billion cash call in April.
Quintet was poised to launch its rebranded Swiss bank, based on the acquisition of Bank am Bellevue, last year when its CEO, Juerg Zeltner, died. After the death of Zeltner, the former long-standing head of UBS' private bank, Swiss CEO Dagmar Kamber Borens left, as well as later the same year the group's operating chief Colin Price.
High-Profile Hires
Price was replaced this year by Eli Leenaars, who like many Quintet hires is a former associate of Zeltner's at UBS. Emmanuel Fievet, a former Edmond de Rothschild private banking executive, replaced Kamber Borens.
In Switzerland, the bank employs roughly 100 people, the spokesman said. Of the roughly 60 hires since its launch, approximately 20 are private bankers. Quintet made several high-profile Swiss-based hires including Cindy Eicher-Battistini from J.P. Morgan and, from Edmond de Rothschild, Jing Zhang Brogle.
Swiss Losses
In Switzerland, Quintet is loss-making – the parent is also unprofitable amid a major expansion bid – and manages just north of 2 billion Swiss francs ($2.2 billion). The Swiss bank's overseer, Bruno Pfister, also proved short-lived: he was replaced as chair after one year by his deputy, Giulia Fitzpatrick.
«Bruno Pfister decided to step down as chair of Quintet Switzerland because he wishes to have more time to focus on his other professional responsibilities – including other non-executive roles – as well as his family and personal pursuits,» a spokesman for the bank said.
Fitzpatrick, a former managing director at UBS, is also on the boards of Postfinance and Worldline, a payments firm.
