Jonathan Asquith bailed out on Barclays just four months after he was appointed head of UK private banking business. Asquith left to take up...

Jonathan Asquith bailed out on Barclays just four months after he was appointed head of UK private banking business. Asquith left to take up the post of chief financial officer at Schroders. His post has been filled by Stephen Skelly, global head of trust and fiduciary business, until a permanent replacement is found.

Inscape appointed Ian Sanders as the client relationship manager of its new City office.

Asset Alliance International appointed David Mimra to head up a new alternative investment sales initiative in Europe.

Simon Akroyd and James Thompson joined Aberdeen Asset Management from Cazenove to establish a London private client office for the group.

Anglo Irish Bank announced that Peter Murray would succeed Tony O'Brien as chairman when O'Brien retires in January. The bank also said that Ned Sullivan joined the board as a non-executive director while William McCann retired from the same position following the conclusion of his term of office.

Christopher Forster, former head of compliance for Europe, Asia and Africa at JP Morgan Private Bank, took up the post of director of risk management at Hermes Asset Management. Jim Brown, head of compliance for JPM's investment bank in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, was made interim head of compliance of the firm's private banking arm.

Sand Aire appointed Michael Acland a director of its family wealth management business. Acland moved to Sand Aire from Merrill Lynch where he was director of the private investors division. Acland was joined by Joan Major who was appointed director of wealth administration to manage delivery of a comprehensive package of administrative services to its clients.

Europe

Urs Landolt will take over the mantle of chief executive officer of Julius Baer Asset Management from Hansruedi Huber from 1 February, 2002. Landolt will be entirely responsible for the bank's institutional clients and fund management activities in Switzerland following Huber's decision to leave to "pursue new professional challenges."

Bank Vontobel announced that Peter Wagner, currently chief executive of transport group Danzas, will take over from Hans-Dieter Vontobel as chairman next Spring. Hans-Dieter Vontobel is retiring.

Lombard Odier announced a change of roles among its senior bankers as part of a shake up of its structure. Prodigal son Serge Ledermann was given an expanded role on the asset management side while Anne-Marie de Weck became head of private wealth management.

Armand von Ernst & Co and Markus Schaller parted company, less than six months after he was appointed chief executive. In a brief statement, Armand von Ernst said it and Schaller had "terminated their collaboration as of 19 November by mutual agreement." Arno Curty, a member of the executive board, took over as chief executive until a replacement could be found.

Alain Pitous was appointed head of private and diversified management at Société Générale Asset Management in Paris.
US & Canada

BMO Harris Private Banking announced two key appointments as part of its strategy to ratchet up services. Jonathan Cunningham joined the investment management team as managing director and investment counsellor. Marion Fraser was appointed as director and senior relationship manager.

David Ford, co-head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, is to retire from the firm at the end of the year, leaving David Blood as the sole head of GSAM. His decision to leave follows a management shake up at the firm.

Wachovia Corp named Robert Newell to head its Carolinas wealth management division. The firm also appointed Jim Black as regional manager for the Triangle Region.

Bear Stearns poached two high level private bankers from JP Morgan Securities to boost staff levels at its San Francisco office. Matthew Simi was named a senior managing director of the firm's Private Client Services Group while his colleague Gregory Shumavon was appointed as a managing director.

Bank of America appointed Paul Dresselhaus to the new position of head of the private banking division of Florida.

Mellon Financial Corporation named David Kutch as the boss of 19 new private wealth management offices opened in the mid-Atlantic region of the US.

JP Morgan's private banking division poached Stanley Kogelman from Goldman Sachs to become head of investments for its multi-manager investment advisory group.

SunTrust Asset Management Advisors has poached to former Goldman Sachs professionals, David Bokman and Michael Henderson, to run its new Atlanta office.

Deutsche Bank wooed a senior JP Morgan Chase banker to head its private banking efforts in Latin America. Andres Rojo, formerly part of the private banking sales team for Argentina and Chile at JP Morgan, has taken the top slot.

Morgan Stanley appointed Mayree Clark head of its new combined businesses of the international private client group and the private wealth management business. The combined businesses, to be called Morgan Stanley private wealth management, will trade as such from the end of January. Robert Sculthorpe, who headed the international private client group, and Stephen Miller, who headed the private wealth management business, will both become advisory directors of the new group.

Matthew McKean joined the bank of New York as a vice president of client services in New Jersey. McKean was previously a vice president at Merrill Lynch in their private client services group.

Citigroup has confirmed its commitment to providing its private banking clients with hedge funds by promoting Ahmed Fahour to chief executive officer of its alternative investments division.

Asia

ANZ Banking Group, one of Australia's biggest financial institutions, appointed Elmer Funke Kupper group managing director, personal customers. Funke Kupper is responsible for ANZ's personal customer and wealth management businesses in Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific regions.

At Bank of Bermuda Mark Perreault moved into the private client services division to head up the development of personal financial solutions for clients in Bermuda which will form part of an expanded offering of the bank's wealth management services. The bank also welcomed on board Brian Wilkinson as its new head of global fund services for Ireland. Wilkinson joined the bank from Fortis Fund Services where he was managing director, head of global marketing and member of the global fund services team.