Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, or ANZ, has appointed a new head of private banking for North East Asia.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, or ANZ, has appointed a new head of private banking for North East Asia.

Based in Hong Kong, Arjan de Boer will oversee ANZ’s private banking business in Hong Kong and Taiwan, the bank said in a statement released yesterday.

De Boer joins from ABN AMRO, where he spent 14 years, most recently holding the position of head of private banking for North Asia. According to a statement released by the Dutch bank confirming he was stepping down from the role, he was expected to remain within the banking group.  

“Having been part of the bank's senior management in the region since late 2005, Arjan will now pursue a new senior opportunity within ABN AMRO’s global organisation, details of which will be announced in due course,” ABN Amro said just last month. However, it seems Australia’s third largest bank by market capitalisation made a more appealing offer.

“We’re delighted to have someone of Arjan’s calibre join our team. His deep knowledge of Asia, management expertise and leadership qualities will further strengthen our private banking leadership team,” said ANZ’s managing director wealth Asia, Bret Packard.

“This is another step towards our goal of being a world class private bank and one of Arjan’s key responsibilities will be to forge strong connections with colleagues and clients across our business in Australia, New Zealand and Asia.”

De Boer, who takes on his new position with ANZ on 3 June 2013, will jointly report to acting head of private banking Asia, Craig Burgess, and to Hong Kong chief executive, Susan Yuen, for his Hong Kong-based responsibilities.

Meanwhile, replacing De Boer at ABN Amro is 30-year industry veteran, Ian Pollock. He has started his new role as head of the private bank’s North Asia team, based in Hong Kong.