Danny Dixon has stepped down as head of Butterfield Private Bank in the UK after being in the post since September 2010, this publication can confirm.

The private bank is part of Bermuda-headquartered Butterfield. Dixon – as he explained in an interview with WealthBriefing last summer – had come out of retirement after a long career in finance to take the helm at the private bank. (To view that interview, see here).

"As a matter of policy, Butterfield will not comment on speculation about possible future events or corporate activities unless there is a regulatory reason to do so," a spokesperson said. 

It is understood that the firm is at an advanced stage in seeking a replacement for Dixon.

In December last year, Butterfield Private Bank in the UK appointed a head for its relationship management team, along with a new lending manager. Ian Smith joined the custody department as head of the relationship management team, while Simon White takes on the role of lending manager at the bank. Smith previously worked for Heritage International Fund Managers and Close Fund Services; White joined after 33 years at Lloyds TSB.

There have been some challenges for the Butterfield group in recent months. Last October, WealthBriefing exclusively revealed that Bentley Reid, the investment business bought by Bermuda-headquartered Butterfield Group almost exactly four years ago, was ending an investment service agreement with the bank, resulting in the outflow of a “considerable amount” of Hong Kong originated assets in 2012.

Butterfield held talks with Bentley Reid, Hong Kong as part of talks about Butterfield’s refocus of its business lines and follows the return of the Malta and Hong Kong businesses to the Bentley family at the end of 2010, according to an internal memo. The size of the assets affected by the termination of the agreement was not disclosed.