Credit Suisse shakes up wealth management leadership as North Asia private bank head prepares to retire

Francois Monnet, the Swiss bank’s Hong Kong branch chief executive and head of private banking for North Asia, to retire at year’s end

Swiss bank seeks to take advantage of wealth opportunities in Greater Bay Area

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Credit Suisse also says it will exit prime brokerage services, simplify its organisation and focus on serving wealthy clients. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:35pm, 18 Nov 2021Updated: 7:29pm, 19 Nov 2021

Credit Suisse has made a series of leadership changes in its Asia wealth management business, as its long-time North Asia private banking head prepares to retire and as it seeks to take advantage of rising incomes in the Greater Bay Area.

Francois Monnet, the Swiss bank’s Hong Kong branch chief executive and head of private banking for North Asia, will retire at the end of December after 14 years at the lender and Benjamin Cavalli will take on the new role of head of wealth management for Asia-Pacific (APAC), according to a memo seen by the Post.

The bank also named Jin Yee Young as deputy head of wealth management for APAC and Chien Chien Wong as its Singapore CEO. Young is the third woman to join the bank’s operating committee in Asia and Wong is the first woman to serve as its CEO in Singapore.

All the appointments are subject to regulatory approval.

Francois Monnet, Credit Suisse’s head of private banking for North Asia and chief executive of its Hong Kong branch, is retiring at the end of the year. Photo: Handout

“As we pivot to faster growth in Asia-Pacific, with wealth management at the core of our success, the appointments of Benjamin, Jin Yee and Chien Chien are a testament to our deep bench of talent and our commitment to build on the unique strengths of our integrated bank model,” said Helman Sitohang, Credit Suisse’s APAC CEO. “I am especially delighted that these appointments demonstrate our strong focus on diversity and inclusion, which is at the heart of our culture at Credit Suisse.”