Credit Suisse taps ex-Deutsche Bank wealth head Kwong for South-east Asia role
CREDIT Suisse appointed Kwong Kin Mun, the former South-east Asia wealth management head at Deutsche Bank, as its new vice-chairman for the region.
Kwong will be based in Singapore and report to Benjamin Cavalli, the company’s head of wealth management for Asia-Pacific, an internal memo said. He will start his role on Mar 27.
The appointment comes at a time when recruiters across the world are getting an unprecedented flood of calls from Credit Suisse bankers seeking new jobs, as the embattled Swiss lender is set to be taken over by UBS Group. Under a historic deal orchestrated by the Swiss government, UBS agreed to buy its smaller rival for three billion Swiss francs (S$4.3 billion) in an all-share deal that includes extensive government guarantees and liquidity provisions.
When announcing the deal, UBS chief executive officer Ralph Hamers said the combination supports the firm’s wealth management growth ambitions in the Americas and Asia. He added that UBS looks forward to welcoming new clients and colleagues across the world.
But UBS was also clear there will be job cuts, with the investment bank it is inheriting likely to be particularly impacted.
Kwong, who has four decades of experience in the industry, left Deutsche Bank in 2020, according to his LinkedIn profile. He has also worked at DBS Group Holdings.
At Credit Suisse, he will be working with the South-east Asia markets’ leadership team and senior bankers to bolster the lender’s relationship with key clients and stakeholders in the region, the memo said.
He will also be involved in building the talent pool for the bank’s next growth phase. The combination of the two Swiss banks will “create enormous potential for clients and private bankers”, he said in a statement. BLOOMBERG
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