Paul White has resigned as head of Schroders' private banking operation in the UK and has been replaced by the co-head of the business Rupert Robinson. Mr White told WealthBriefing that he has agreed to stay on at Schroders as a senior advisor on the credit structuring side of the business and that the decision to reduce his role was entirely his own. “I’ve been waiting for an appropriate juncture to step down as head of the business and we’ve now reached that,” he said. “We’ve had an excellent first quarter with the cost/income ratio now at around 68 per cent. The business is about to enter into a new phase with an expanded relationship management force and there will be a lot of advertising to reflect this.” With the move, Alex Whitburn, head of banking and treasury will join the Schroders board, as will Kate Leppard, head of discretionary asset management. Mr White was appointed chief executive of Schroder & Co, with the private banking business being jointly managed by Mr White and Mr Robinson in December 2005, after the departure of Sally Tennant. Ms Tennant now runs the UK operation of Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch.