(Bloomberg) -- Credit Suisse Group AG picked two new leaders for its key private-banking business in the Asia-Pacific region, succeeding Francesco de Ferrari, who left to run Australian asset manager AMP Ltd.
The bank tapped Francois Monnet and Benjamin Cavalli to help lead the wealth management business in North Asia and South Asia, respectively. De Ferrari, who previously had the sole mandate for the entire Asia-Pacific region, is leaving the Swiss bank to become chief executive officer of Sydney-based AMP.
Private banking is a critical growth engine for Credit Suisse and a focus for CEO Tidjane Thiam. In addition to the Asia unit, the bank also has an international wealth management division, run by Iqbal Khan. Last week, that business was split into seven regions to give managers greater autonomy to pursue business growth.
Monnet and Cavalli “will work in close collaboration to broaden our private banking franchise and identify opportunities," Helman Sitohang, CEO of the Asia Pacific division said. Sitohang emphasized the increased regional focus in the business as key to winning new clients and getting a bigger share of the market.
Read more: Credit Suisse sees shift in Asia wealth race
The broadening of the regional division has been a pet project for Thiam and a key tenet of his mission to strengthen Credit Suisse's standing as a wealth manager for rich clients across the globe. The regional split is part of the final phase of a broader three-year overhaul at the Swiss bank to focus more on wealth management than the volatile investment-banking services.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sridhar Natarajan in New York at snatarajan15@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, David Scheer
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