Credit Suisse may sell JO Hambro Investment Management, its UK private client wealth management business, although no firm decision has yet been reached, the Financial Times said, citing an unnamed source.

The Swiss bank declined to comment when contacted by WealthBriefing.

Wealth management represents most of  JO Hambro Investment Management’s business, although it also has an asset management operation. The JOHIM business, as pointed out by the newspaper, is separate from JO Hambro Capital Management. Both firms were founded by the Hambro family, with Richard Hambro, David Chaplin and Lord Balniel the founding partners of JOHIM in 1986.

For the first 14 years, the firm was owned by the Hambro Family and the management of JOHIM, until 2001 when it was acquired by Credit Suisse.

JOHIM has remained a separately managed entity from other divisions within Credit Suisse Private Banking.

If Credit Suisse does sell the firm, it would fit its recent strategy of streamlining its formerly independent private banking operations. In April 2006 Credit Suisse announced the merger of the five separate wealth management and securities dealing companies it owned into Clariden Leu. Late last year, Credit Suisse announced it had incorporated Clariden Leu into the parent company.