Advertisement
Advertisement
Banking & finance
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
Credit Suisse also says it will exit prime brokerage services, simplify its organisation and focus on serving wealthy clients. Photo: AFP

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
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.”

The appointments come as banks are bulking up their operations in anticipation of benefiting from further integration and opening up of the financial sector in the Greater Bay Area, which spans Hong Kong, Macau and nine mainland cities in southern China.
Banks and wealth managers, in particular, are excited about the introduction of the Wealth Management Connect scheme in October, which will initially allow the sale of 300 billion yuan (US$46.5 billion) in wealth management flows between the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau.

The appointments also come after Credit Suisse recently announced plans to restructure its business following the implosion of family office Archegos Capital Management and bankruptcy of financial services company Greensill Capital this year.

Ben Cavalli has been named Credit Suisse’s head of wealth management for APAC. He is currently head of private banking for South Asia, Singapore CEO and APAC sustainability leader. Photo: Handout

The bank said it would exit prime brokerage services, simplify its organisation and focus on serving wealthy clients.

In part, the bank said it would increase the capital allocated to its unified global wealth management operations by 25 per cent by 2024 and would expand asset management distribution in certain European and Asian markets.

A former UBS banker, Monnet joined Credit Suisse in 2007 as head of private banking for Southeast Asia and Australasia. He has also previously served as head of ultra-high-net-worth for private banking in Southeast Asia, Australia and Japan, and chief operating officer for private banking in APAC.

In his time as head of private banking for North Asia, the business achieved five consecutive years of double-digit revenue growth and its assets under management have doubled since 2016.

Jin Yee Young has been named the new deputy head of wealth management for APAC at Credit Suisse. Photo: Handout

His successor, Cavalli, joined Credit Suisse in 2009 and currently is head of private banking for South Asia, the bank’s Singapore CEO and its APAC sustainably leader. He will also assume the Hong Kong chief executive role and relocate to the city as part of the management shake-up.

Cavalli has served as head of the South Asia private bank since 2018 and will continue to serve as APAC sustainability leader in his new role.

In her new role as deputy head of APAC wealth management, Young will work closely with Cavalli and will serve on the region’s operating committee. She joins Wong, the APAC chief operating officer, and Janice Hu, Credit Suisse’s China CEO, as the third woman on the regional operating committee.

Chien Chien Wong, Credit Suisse’s chief operating officer for APAC, has been named the bank’s new CEO for Singapore. Photo: Handout

Young is currently market group head for private banking in Singapore and Malaysia and for South Asia Switzerland, a Zurich-based team serving clients in the region. She has more than 25 years of experience in wealth management, including 18 years at Credit Suisse.

Wong, the APAC chief operating officer, adds the additional duties of Singapore CEO to her existing roles. She joined Credit Suisse First Boston in 1992 and has held a variety of roles in Singapore, Hong Kong and New York.

Post