Kleinwort Benson Private Bank continues to make further changes as part of its re-launch of its brand and is on the verge of hiring a brandi...

Kleinwort Benson Private Bank continues to make further changes as part of its re-launch of its brand and is on the verge of hiring a branding agency to help position the firm towards a more defined space. The move comes after a number of other groups have been hired to restructure one of the most venerable names in private banking in the UK. “We have been busy with restructuring efforts for some months now — most of these efforts will fall into place by the beginning of next year,” Robert Taylor, chief executive of Kleinwort Benson Private Bank told, WealthBriefing. The bank plans to coordinate much of the re-launched brand with the opening of its new offshore offices in Guernsey in October. “Everything should be in place — restructuring and the brand re-launch — by the very latest when we move into our new offices in London’s Gresham Street by the spring of next year,” said Mr Taylor. The bank has been working closely with KPMG, which has been advising on the overall structural changes taking place at the bank. Third parties also brought into help with the overall restructuring efforts have been Michael Maynard Associates and Getfeedback. “Michael Maynard has provided us with help on our cultural change programme. Getfeedback is providing us with the external expertise to assess senior management — including private bankers — on their skills levels,” said Mr Taylor. The ex-Merrill Lynch and Coutts private banker said that one of the major changes was to retrain much of the senior staff away from the old product silos-orientated structures towards a much more holistic private banking culture. New products have also been launched along the lines of an absolute return platform, which have attracted considerable interest already, said Mr Taylor. Much effort has been made on the bank’s repositioning of its brand, which will be further worked on with the appointment of the new brand agency. Mr Taylor said that part of these efforts have been to concentrate on the traditions of the Kleinwort brand — one that goes back more than 100 years — and combine that with an enterprise culture more akin to the 21st century. He also said there was a need to combine this with the comprehensive investment platform provided through the Dresdner brand. “We want to combine the advisory-led, personal relationship ethos of Kleinwort with the global reach of Dresdner.” Mr Taylor said the current restructuring efforts may lead to some staff layoffs, but there were no imminent redundancies planned.