UK private bank Kleinwort Benson has appointed Chris Burton from RBS Group as new head of private wealth management international.

This newly-created role carries overall responsibility for private wealth management in Kleinwort Benson across the Channel Islands. Mr Burton reports to Mark Hussein, head of private wealth management.

At RBS, Mr Burton was chief executive of the RBS Coutts International Trust and Fiduciary Services business. His career with RBS, which spanned 26 years, latterly included roles with Coutts in London, Hong Kong and Jersey.

“This is a significant appointment for Kleinwort Benson and we are pleased to have attracted another professional of Chris’s calibre to the business… his expertise and knowledge will prove invaluable as we accelerate our drive to grow the international private wealth management business,” said Mr Hussein.

Kleinwort Benson operates from offices in Birmingham, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Guernsey, Jersey, Leeds, London, Manchester and Newbury. The bank’s private wealth management arm consists of both the private fiduciary administration business, and a team of fiduciary, intermediary and high net worth relationship managers based across Guernsey, Jersey and London.

Kleinwort Benson is a subsidiary of Dresdner Bank and a member of the Commerzbank Group. In February it was announced that no bonuses for 2008 will be paid to the employees of Commerzbank and its subsidiaries; Kleinwort Benson has also said that it will impose a salary freeze this year.