Private bankers look to jump ship as consolidation comes

Mark Somers, managing director of private banking search firm The Somers Partnership, says European private bankers at smaller firms are getting twitchy about the prospect of consolidation in the industry.

"There will continue to be a set of private banking mergers this year, and mergers and the threat of mergers are causing uncertainty in the minds of candidates," says Somers. He adds: "Whether it is a good idea to move will come down the driving force for the merger - is it about saving money in the back or middle office, or about marrying up sales forces and asset gathering teams?"

Somers' comments follow a report in today's Financial Times quoting Peter Wuffli, chief executive of UBS, as saying that mergers in Europe's private banking industry will leave the large Swiss bank in a good position to poach staff from consolidating rivals.

Switzerland alone is home to hundreds of small elite private banks, which are widely expected to join forces in order to overcome the high costs of regulation and automation and the need to build up new office networks in Europe and the growing Asian Pacific markets.

The paper also quotes Wuffli as saying that Asia has been one of the key drivers for growth in UBS' private banking industry in the past year. "About half of Asia's billionaires now bank with UBS," he said.

With many private banks seeking to recruit, Somers says it remains a candidates' market for private bankers with a strong history of asset gathering: "The pendulum has swung in favour of individuals with a history of success and a list of established clients. This is definitely their market."