The firm said it will support clients including expats, family offices and entrepreneurs.

Indosuez Wealth Management, part of Crédit Agricole, has opened a branch in Lisbon, adding to a run of such firms building a presence in the Iberian Peninsula. 

Located at Avenida da Liberdade. the branch will comprise nine employees (private bankers, advisors and commercial assistants) and will support family offices, large families, entrepreneurs and expatriates living in Portugal.

Portugal still operates a form of “golden visa” regime designed to encourage high net worth investors to live in the country – although the scheme has become a political hot-button issue amid concerns about high residential prices.

The new office will tighten links with other Crédit Agricole group entities, such as Crédit Agricole CIB, Credibom (CA Consumer Finance), Eurofactor (factoring) and MUDUM (insurance), Indosuz Wealth Management said in a statement yesterday.

Included in the announcement was Nuno Vilar Gomes' appointment as chief executive of Indosuez Wealth Management in the country.

A number of banks have set up or expanded operations in the Iberian region, particularly in Spain. Banque J Safra Sarasin (Luxembourg), has opened a new branch in Spain. Groups such as Barclays, Julius Baer and Deutsche Bank have also been building up their private banking and wealth operations in Spain.

C-suite
The firm said that Gomes will coordinate the development of Portuguese clients for all Indosuez entities. He will continue to be responsible for the sales team in charge of Portuguese clients in Luxembourg.

Christophe Besnard, who has been appointed deputy CEO of the branch, will oversee risk management, compliance, operations and support activities. The firm also named Tiago Rangel de Lima as client director.

Gomes began his career at Banco Commercial Português in 1997, before joining Banco Finantia in 2000 as a private banker. In 2005, he joined Barclays Wealth as associate director and in 2007 he became vice president. He joined Credit Suisse Luxembourg in 2012 as VP of the Portuguese desk, and since 2015, has been head of wealth management Portugal at Indosuez Europe. 

Besnard joined Crédit Agricole Group in 2002 as chief financial officer of Amundi Technology (SITS), having led consulting assignments for the CNCA and Crédit Agricole Asset Management. In 2011, he took charge of the IT audit of Amundi, the European asset manager, as auditor and then project manager. Since 2016, he has been chief operating officer of the Indosuez Wealth Management Belgium branch. 

De Lima began his career at Banco Santander in Portugal in 1997. At Santander, he worked in the retail banking and investment funds departments before joining private banking in November 2001. Since then, he has worked as a private banker in a number of roles. He was head of private clients before joining Indosuez Wealth Management in Luxembourg as senior wealth manager and client director in November 2023.