Kleinwort Benson, the UK private bank recently sold by Germany’s Commerzbank to Belgian financial services group RHJ International, has opened a permanent office in Edinburgh.

The new branch is situated on Charlotte Square - an area of the city well known for wealth management - and will be headed-up by Gordon Scott, previously private client manager at Standard Life, working on investment, pensions and IHT solutions for high net worth individuals.

Although Kleinwort already had a representative office in the Scottish capital, the private bank is keen to capitalise on the rising popularity of the city as a financial centre, claiming that clients have become disillusioned with the wealth management operations of larger banks, looking instead to dedicated private banking businesses.

“We have seen many major existing players have their brand equity eroded as much greater importance is now being placed on reputation and integrity, which have simply not been available from the wealth management divisions of large retail and investment banking institutions,” said Mark Hussein, global head of wealth management at Kleinwort Benson.

London-based investment manager Ruffer recently opened an Edinburgh office, while Brown Shipley and Brookes MacDonald have also been recruiting for their offices in the Scottish capital.