ZURICH- Swiss private bank Vontobel on Monday said it was handing over its equity brokerage business to Zuercher Kantonalbank (ZKB) and said its results for the first 11 months of 2019 were better than a year ago.
The transaction with ZKB is due to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2020. Vontobel did not give financial details of the transaction, which impacts about six people at Bank Vontobel Europe AG in London.
Vontobel also announced several leadership changes with Roger Studer stepping down as head of investment banking to focus on non-operational duties from 2020. Meanwhile general counsel Enrico Friz will become a member of Vontobel’s executive board.
Asset Management, headed by Axel Schwarzer, will continue to focus on institutional clients such as pension funds, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds, as well as third-party banks in the wholesale fund business, Vontobel said.
Advised client assets rose to 225 billion Swiss (175 billion pounds) francs at the end of November, the Zurich-based bank said, up from 217 billion at the end of September.
(Content and photos syndicated via Reuters)