Basel-based private bank, Bank Sarasin, has seen the defection of several private bankers from its Geneva operations, according to a report in Le Temps. Richard Foden, Thierry Racine and Christian Graber left Sarasin last month, says the report. Ex-Credit Suisse Greece regional manager, Kristinn Kristinsson, was appointed head of Private Banking Geneva at the beginning of March this year. Last week, Sarasin Chiswell, the bank’s UK operation, announced that six professionals are due to join its international private client investment activities in London. Andrew Stewart, Mark Fairbanks Smith, Sam Jeffries, Nicholas Evans, David Vickers and Tina Plank will be joining Sarasin Chiswell this summer from Baring Asset Management. The London appointments are a further step in Sarasin’s stated group wide drive for growth of its international private client business aiming at a further increase of the assets under management of the Sarasin Group to SFr100 billion by 2010, according to a statement from the bank.