The Swiss-headquartered private bank has confirmed the closure of its London-based bond trading team.

The Edmond de Rothschild Group has cut its fixed income team in London.

The family-owned bank shut down the team of nine, which was headed up by managing director Andrew Elman, in July. The team specialised in credit in both investment grade and sub-investment grade securities and was active in all international and domestic fixed income securities across all currency sectors.

“The board of Edmond de Rothschild UK decided earlier this year to close the fixed income dealing desk in London,” said a spokesperson for the company.

“While the business was profitable, the decision reflects the group’s focus on its core private banking and asset management businesses. We are grateful to the team for their years of service to the group and wish them well for the future.” 

The move indicates how banks' fixed income desks have come under pressure amid low interest rates and cost-cutting. Bond funds suffered net outflows of $0.6 billion in July, according to Lipper’s recent global fund market data. Citi Private Bank recently revealed its underweight position for fixed income before stating that debt markets appear not to have fully priced in the likelihood that the US Federal Reserve could hike interest rates as soon as September.

The Edmond de Rothschild Group, which has been headed by Mr de Rothschild since 1997, appointed Ariane de Rothschild, the wife of chairman Benjamin de Rothschild, as the new chief executive in January.