People Moves
BNP Paribas Names New Germany Wealth Head

The appointment is part of the Paris-listed bank's policy of building out its German private bank and wealth management operations via its deal last year to acquire operations from HSBC in the country.
Yesterday, BNP
Paribas announced that its wealth business in Germany – an
important growth area for the French bank in recent years – has
appointed Beat Bachmann as its new CEO, effective from the start
of June. Bachmann is replacing Michael Arends who is
continuing his career outside the group, a spokesperson confirmed
to this publication when asked about the matter.
At present, Bachman is CEO of BNP Paribas Wealth Management in
Switzerland. He will also be deputy CEO of BNP Paribas Wealth
Management International Markets. The latter role means that he
wll continue to run some strategic client relationships
within the “international markets” scope, which includes Germany,
Luxembourg, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, the Middle East
and Monaco.
“In his new role, Beat will focus on developing our business in
Germany, a highly strategic market for BNP Paribas Wealth
Management, ensuring the successful integration of HSBC Private
Banking activities this year,” Vincent Lecomte, CEO of BNP
Paribas Wealth Management, said. “Beat’s extensive experience and
strong international background in the industry will be key to
further expanding our position among the top leading players in
Germany on all client segments, especially with the entrepreneurs
and families clients.”
The move comes at a time when BNP Paribas has been building out
its wealth arm in Europe’s largest economy, as illustrated
in its agreement,
announced last autumn, to buy the German private bank of
HSBC.
The bank said it expected to close its acquisition of HSBC
Private Banking in Germany in October this year, a process that
will more than double assets managed to over €40 billion ($45.3
billion) in the country, and with a team of about 300 people.
“Germany offers strong growth potential for wealth management
activities, particularly with SMEs (Mittelstand) and German
entrepreneur clients. Our integrated and diversified
business model is best suited to meet the long-term needs of
these clients, leveraging the strong expertise of the group’s
activities, notably investment and corporate banking, asset
management and real estate, already well established locally,”
Lutz Diederichs, CEO of BNP Paribas Germany, said. (About six
years ago this news service spoke to BNP Paribas about its views
on the German
market's potential.)
Bachman’s successor in Switzerland will be announced in due
course, the bank said.
With more than 25 years' experience in international
banking, Bachman has held several senior positions in wealth
management at UBS for 16 years in Switzerland and Germany; in
2015, he was appointed head of global financial intermediaries
Europe at UBS. He joined BNP Paribas in August 2022.
With a science background, Bachman holds a PhD in organic chemistry from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) and an MBA from INSEAD.