People Moves
Familiar Figure Becomes CEO For HSBC's Geneva-Based Private Bank
The new CEO is a permanent replacement for Franco Morra, who retired after six years in the post.
HSBC has appointed Alex
Classen, a prominent figure in the European private banking
sector, as the chief executive of HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) SA
and country head Switzerland.
He replaces Franco Morra, who stepped down in April this year.
Morra’s tenure coincided with repositioning the private bank in
Switzerland after a series of problems, such as a data leak by
self-styled whistleblower Herve Falciani. Morra had been at the
helm for about six years. Classen is seen as providing the
experience to take the Geneva-based group into a further period
of growth.
Classen will be based in Geneva. He will be responsible for
private banking in Switzerland and Luxembourg, a Swiss
subsidiary, and will oversee the wholesale banking and asset
management operations in the Alpine state.
His appointment takes effect on 5 November and is subject to
regulatory approval.
Classen has held senior roles in Switzerland, the UK and Asia
over the past 25 years. He joins from Bedrock, an investment
management company. Previously he was CEO, head of international
business at Coutts & Co Ltd, and head of private wealth
management for the EMEA region at Morgan Stanley International in
London.
Between 2000 and 2006 Classen was general manager, Goldman Sachs
Bank AG Zurich, after spending five years as regional CEO of
Pictet Asia, based in Singapore.
A Swiss national, Classen started his career in 1985 at Pictet &
Cie in Geneva.
