The private office of Coutts has recruited a senior figure from one of its rivals in London.

Coutts Private Office, part of Coutts, has appointed former Credit Suisse private banker Alison Bishop as a senior wealth manager, a newly-created position.

The role has been developed in response to growing client demand, the UK bank said in a statement yesterday.

Bishop reports to Adrian Jones, managing director in the Coutts Private Office.

At Credit Suisse Private Bank, Bishop was a desk head within the ultra high net worth business. She joined the Swiss bank in 2013, according to its website. Prior to that role, she spent seven years with JP Morgan Private Bank, where she led the financial sponsors team.  

A few days ago, Royal Bank of Scotland, parent bank of Coutts, announced that its private banking business arm reported an adjusted operating profit in 2014 of £258 million ($400.7 million), up sharply from £172 million a year earlier.

The UK-listed bank, which is majority-owned by the UK taxpayer, said it made “good” progress towards plans to offload its non-UK wealth management business but it gave few other details about the possible timing of any exit. International private banking, it should be noted, logged a narrower operating loss last year of £27 million, down from £110 million in 2013.

Rory Tapner, who has been the head of RBS’s global wealth business since joining from UBS in 2010, is leaving the firm.