Report confirms that former Credit Suisse executive, Christian Wiesendanger has been appointed by Swiss bank UBS to lead the wealth management of Switzerland. Christian Wiesendanger has been associated with Credit Suisse since 2001. UBS (UBSN.VX)(UBS.N), the world’s second biggest wealth manager in terms of assets, by hiring him from its cross-town rival continues the eternal battle for Swiss banking supremacy.
Wiesendanger off late is heading the wealth management for Latin America and will take up his position at the beginning of October. Wiesendanger is said to replace veteran banker Stefan Bodmer and would report to Lukas Gaehwiler, recently appointed as CEO of UBS Switzerland. Wiesendanger has also joined hands with a number of ex-Credit Suisse executives, including Gaehwiler who is the former CEO of UBS, Switzerland. Gaehwiler is reported to have crossed to UBS since Oswald Gruebel was lured out of retirement to join the bank as the chief executive in the first part of the year 2009. Gruebel has spent a maximum span of his career at Credit Suisse, and has stood down from the top executive role in 2007. One of his most significant hiring coups was when he brought Gaehwiler, a 20-year veteran of Credit Suisse, to head UBS’s Swiss business.
In the continuing struggle for competent recruits, Anthony Iliya recently left Credit Suisse to join UBS as the chief executive for the Middle East as well as that of North Africa. On the other hand Ann Luke followed a different step altogether by joining Credit Suisse’s private banking division from that of UBS Wealth Management to which he was associated with previously
