The head of its Swiss bank and wealth management operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa is leaving. He will be replaced by a longtime UBS banker who only recently joined the German company.
Marco Bizzozero is leaving the German lender in the coming months to pursue outside opportunities, Deutsche Bank said in a statement on Thursday. The departure of Bizzozero, who has been with the bank for 12 years and in his current role for the past eight, is sudden.
He is being replaced by Peter Hinder, currently chief of staff for Deutsche's private client, wealth management and commercial arm, effective next Thursday. Hinder has spent the last 12 months helping shape Deutsche's strategy for private banking.
Bizzozero's departure is a major setback to Deutsche's efforts to focus more on low-risk, lucrative private banking as its pares back its powerful investment banking arm and repairs its capital.
Second Defection
He isn't the first high-profile manager to take flight: Deutsche also lost Ravi Raju, the head of its operations in Asia, who defected to UBS last month.
Hinder and Bizzozero, who also represents Deutsche in a trade body of foreign banks in Switzerland, will work together on an orderly transition of responsibilities until the end of January. The bank said the management change doesn't alter its commitment to Switzerland.
«It is the centre of the group's wealth management business for the EMEA region, as well as handling some of the wealth management business for Latin America and Asia,» Deutsche said in the statement.
Hinder (pictured above) is a 23-year veteran of UBS who left in 2010 to become chief executive of Thurgauer Kantonalbank, one of a network of regional banks in Switzerland. He joined Deutsche last November.
Deutsche's rivals are licking their chops for when the German bank leaves the Australian private banking market as part of the restructuring. The bank plans to have assets transferred to other providers in the first part of next year.
