Morgan Stanley has recruited private banker Rony Barakat from Credit Agricole to boost its Latin American business in Switzerland.

Barakat, who has been appointed as executive director and investment advisor covering Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, joins from Banque Heritage, where he had been a director since 2009. Before this he spent three years as a member of the senior management team at Credit Agricole (Suisse), also focusing on Latin American clients. In his new role Barakat reports to Mauricio Sanchez, head of the bank's Latin American team in Switzerland.

The Latin American market is a priority for many wealth managers due to the growing prosperity in countries such as Brazil and Chile which is being fuelled by rising commodity prices. A number of banks have made senior Latin America-focused hires in recent times; last week, for example, Barclays Wealth appointed Daniel Esslinger - latterly head of private banking at Banco Itaú (Suisse) - as head of Latin American relationship management.