Julius Baer has confirmed research compiled by finews.asia that «half a dozen» bankers and a team head in Zurich have resigned.
Swiss lender Julius Baer is coming to terms with the resignation of at least six of its bankers in Zurich, in addition to a team head, finews.asia can reveal.
Saman Habibian has resigned from his position as Managing Director and Head of GCC International, the bank's business catering to clients in the Middle East. He was at Julius Baer for close to five years, prior to which he was head of sales and acquisitions at Bank J. Safra Sarasin.
Sheer Size of the Bank's Footprint
An additional six bankers from the same team have also tendered their resignation. Whilst confirming that «around half a dozen of our Middle East & Africa (MEA) team are planning to leave Julius Baer», a spokesperson for the bank said to finews.asia, «we are confident in our ability to retain client relationships.»
Much of that confidence may be attributed to the sheer size of the bank's footprint in the region – it has over 100 relationship managers serving MEA clients from different locations.
Lured Away by Boris Collardi?
Dubai is the designated hub for the region and the bank employs over 170 people there to serve clients in what it refers to as its «core markets» in the UAE and the Indian Subcontinent.
Although there is no confirmation on where the bankers are headed, there is much speculation in private banking circles that they may be headed to rival Swiss private bank Pictet, lured away by the promise of working with Boris Collardi, Julius Baer's charismatic ex-CEO who is now a partner at Pictet.
