Banca Profilo, the Milanese private and investment bank has named François Semerdjian as head of finance. He has worked at major multinational banks (JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch, Barclays) and Italian (Cariplo, Caboto, Abaxbank) companies.

For the past two years he has been managing director of fixed income at Bear Stearns International in London.

Profilo chairman Sandro Capotosti said: "Francois Semerdjian’s joining represents a significant step in the process of upgrading and operational reorganisation that the bank has initiated in addition to bringing five professionals into the equity sector."

Banca Profilo has offices in Milan, Rome, Genoa, Reggio Emilia, Turin, Ferrara, Forlì, Brescia, Pistoia, Lucerne and Geneva.