Julius Baer said it is hiring five private bankers from rival Barclays – the second such raid in three months. The action is reminiscent of the Swiss bank's rapacious hiring in Asia.
The Swiss private bank has poached a five-person team of private bankers from rival Barclays for its newest U.K. office, in Edinburgh. Julius Baer said it will open in Scotland's largest city in the second quarter, under Gordon Scott, also a former Barclays private banker who now runs the Swiss bank's North West, Scottish and Northern Ireland teams.
The rapid pace of the Swiss bank's British hiring is reminiscent of ten years ago, when Julius Baer began a hiring spree in second home market Asia that saw its staff mushroom from several hundred to more than 1,500.
The new U.K. hires are private bankers Ross Clephane, Alan Colquhoun, James Osborne, and Stuart Paterson as well as wealth planner Paul Turnbull. All have spent at least five years at Barclays.
Hot Scottish Market
The hires are part of a major push by Julius Baer into U.K. and Irish cities to compete with big domestic banks such as HSBC. «The Scottish market has seen a marked increase in the number of business owners, entrepreneurs and individuals seeking wealth and investment management solutions,» David Durlacher, the bank's U.K. head, said in a statement.
In November, Julius Baer raided Barclays of nine bankers including Scott and Martin Cuthbert, who was a regional private banking head at the British bank. Durlacher said the hires disclosed on Tuesday reflect Julius Baer's long-term commitment to the U.K. and Ireland.
