Credit Suisse has appointed three former JP Morgan employees to its ultra high net worth market group for the UK and international segment, this publication can exclusively report.

Credit Suisse has appointed three former JP Morgan employees to its ultra high net worth market group for the UK and international segment, highlighting how important this sector is to the firm and its “one-bank” philosophy, this publication can exclusively report.

The appointees are Alison Bishop, who joins as a relationship manager, while Shaileen Morjaria and Robert Weeber join as investment managers.

The trio will work with Matthew Haimes, who is head of its UHNW, market area UK/international, segment. He joined the firm late last year, having previously been UK head of the family office solutions group and former head of the European financial sponsors team at JP Morgan.

The Zurich-listed bank has been shortlisted - in the category of UK Private Bank - UHNW Team - for the WealthBriefing Awards 2013, to be announced on 2 May in London. 

The recruitment signals how Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-biggest bank, is determined to push ahead with its UHNW offering, Haimes told this publication in a recent interview.

“We are looking to grow this business significantly and hiring even more people. Over the last six months, a total of 10 bankers from outside and inside the bank have been appointed to our UHNW businesses in the UK and Scandinavia. We are talking to other potential external hires who I hope will join us,” Haimes said.

“The markets have stabilised since the financial crisis and we see a slightly increased risk appetite from our clients. Credit Suisse is uniquely positioned to meet the changing needs of our clients and help them capitalise on the global yield and growth opportunities,” he said.

Credit Suisse has repeatedly made a point about its “one bank” philosophy, tying together the private, investment banking and commercial banking units, although major banks, such as its rival, UBS, have also sought to cut risk exposures in the investment banking side, including heavy cost cuts.

“The 'one-bank' ethos at Credit Suisse is part of our DNA and can be seen through our nearly 100-employee strong team called Solution Partners. This team sits between the investment bank and private bank, ensuring that all of our clients’ needs from wealth management to M&A to other special solutions are taken care of by the people who know the client best. Our UHNW clients' own companies, start companies, own multiple homes in countries around the world and they want their bank to be able to service all those needs and have someone who can navigate the bank for them,” he said.

The new recruits to the CS offering have long-standing experience in dealing with the multitude of organisations that go under the “family office” designation and are used to the range and sophistication of such clients’ needs, added Haimes.

The recruits

Bishop spent the last six years covering UHNW individuals and clients in the private equity sector. Prior to joining JP Morgan, she was seconded to Morgan Stanley for three years where she served as a risk management executive. She began her career in 2000 at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, based in the UK fixed income and European high yield sales teams.

Morjaria previously worked at the Global Investment Opportunities Group, where he covered UHNW individuals and family offices in the UK and MENA region. Prior to that, he spent eight years at Lehman Brothers where he worked as a director and investment representative with coverage for hedge funds, independent asset managers, private banks, family offices and middle market institutions in the UK, South Africa and Asia.

Weeber also has worked at the Global Investment Opportunities Group, where he worked on the multi-asset class sales desk covering family offices and funds. Prior to moving to JP Morgan, Robert spent four years at JW Sedgwick as an international business development manager. He began his career in 2001 at Cheyne Capital as a trader’s assistant and, in 2006, served a three-month internship in the strategy and policy area of the United Nations in Geneva.

Other appointments at the UHNW client segment include those of Harry Fehr, Hans-Olav Eldring, Claudia Schürch, Martin Burke, Amira Halna du Fretay and Mikael Edler.