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Swiss bank UBP hires top banker to attract more US clients

June 26, 2018 00:00:00


Swiss private bank Union Bancaire Privee (UBP) hired a top banker to oversee a unit that specialises in managing investments for US residents and citizens.

The UBP is aiming to rebuild its business with US clients following a big tax settlement two years ago, reports Reuters.

The group on Monday named Deepak Soni to head its subsidiary UBP Investment Advisors.

Among other things, he will oversee the addition of a new Zurich branch, UBP said in a statement.

Soni, who previously managed bank Vontobel's advisory for US clients, has been tasked with growing the bank's business managing wealthy Americans' assets.

Over the next three years, the group wants to grow its business for US clients to some two billion Swiss francs ($2.0 billion) of managed assets, a spokesman said.

"The United States is the world's biggest wealth management market today and is therefore a priority market for UBP," private banking head Michel Longhini said in a statement.

"We are very pleased to have hired Deepak Soni," said the statement.

UBP group assets under management totaled 125.3 billion Swiss francs at the end of last year.

UBP was among Swiss banks that came under fire from US authorities starting in 2008 for allegedly helping wealthy Americans dodge taxes.

The Geneva-based bank reached a deal with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2016, paying over $187 million to resolve potential issues related to undeclared accounts.

At the time, the DOJ said the bank had held nearly 3,000 US-related accounts since mid-2008 when factoring in acquisitions it made over the period.

Switzerland, the world's largest centre for offshore wealth, has since introduced largely automatic information-sharing on tax matters between many countries as it curtails banking secrecy.

Soni assumed his role on June 1.


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