An experienced private banker is moving back from the Middle East to run the Swiss franchise, following the appointment of a new private banking head at the UK bank.

Rahim Daya has been appointed CEO of Barclays Bank (Suisse) SA and will relocate to Barclays’ Geneva office, where he will be responsible for positioning the business for growth in the region, the UK bank said. Daya will report to Gérald Mathieu in Geneva.

As part of the reshuffle, Daya will retain leadership of the Middle East private banking division, replacing Mathieu, who was recently promoted to head of Barclays Private Bank, Europe and Middle East and CEO for Barclays Monaco.
 
Daya will relocate from Dubai, where he spent the last two years heading private banking for the region. Before that, he was head of business transformation at Barclays, logging more than a decade at the bank.

“Rahim’s experience across Barclays Private Bank makes him well placed to lead Barclays Bank (Suisse) SA as we continue to invest in Switzerland...  as such an important market for the Private Bank,” Mathieu said. Barclays has been present there for over 30 years.

“We see many opportunities to further strengthen and develop relationships with family offices and ultra-high net worth clients,” Daya said. The bank said it would be leveraging Barclays corporate and investment banking services to meet the complex demands of its domestic and international clients in Switzerland.

In March, the private banking arm named a series of European country heads to help connect local family offices and wealthy clients with the bank's other investment solutions in a bid to expand its role in Europe.