HSBC Swiss private bank increases staff pay amid executive exits-report

HSBC’s Swiss private bank is implementing staff retention measures, including increased compensation, following a series of executive exits, reported Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.

The bank is also leveraging leadership from its Middle East business to support its Swiss operations.

According to the sources, HSBC’s Swiss arm has raised pay for some staff, including relationship managers, to discourage departures.

This follows several recent exits from the unit, notably interim head John Shipman, who left in the previous month to join Barclays.

HSBC has brought in Samir Assaf, chairman of its Middle East business, to advise the Swiss private bank.

Assaf, the former global banking and markets head and current adviser to the bank’s chairman and chief executive officer, is spending time in Geneva to assist the unit, according to sources.

In response to queries by Bloomberg about the retention payments, HSBC stated, “We continue to attract top talent at HSBC and invest in our people.”

Addressing questions about Assaf’s involvement, HSBC said, “Our strategy is to significantly grow our Wealth business.”

Bloomberg earlier reported that HSBC’s Swiss business is ending relationships with more than one thousand wealthy clients in the Middle Eastern region, including those with assets of more than $100m.

The Swiss private bank is currently under scrutiny from Swiss regulator Finma, which previously found that the unit had not conducted adequate due diligence on high-risk accounts owned by persons with political exposure.

In addition, Swiss federal prosecutors have opened an investigation into the division.

Following Shipman’s departure, HSBC announced last month that Daniel Calado would serve as the interim head of the Swiss private bank.

Retention packages are a standard incentive used by companies to retain key employees during periods of uncertainty, especially when competitors may seek to attract talent with competitive offers.

For example, UBS awarded about $500m in retention packages to Credit Suisse staff it wished to retain after the merger of Switzerland’s largest banks was announced.

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