Who's Moving Where In Wealth Management? - Credit Suisse, UBS

Editorial Staff

24 May 2021

A to run its telecommunications, media and technology advisory team in Sydney, partnering with Brendan Mulheron, Bloomberg has reported, citing an internal memo. While not strictly a wealth management move, Credit Suisse and UBS, along with a number of other bulge bracket banks, have made a point in the past about close ties between their investment banking and wealth arms, particularly when it comes to working with ultra-high net worth clients.

McKessar, who had been at Credit Suisse since 2007 and most recently led its local TMT team, will start at UBS in August.

The bank confirmed the story to WealthBriefingAsia when asked about the matter today.

The departure came in the wake of losses that Credit Suisse sustained because of its exposure as a prime broker to New York-based Archegos Capital, which imploded with heavy losses. A number of other banks, including UBS, were also hit by the saga.

Bloomberg said that Credit Suisse is having to consider retention bonuses to discourage staff departures, but that has “come too late for some of its Australian bankers.” The report said that another senior figure has left, with Karl Rozman leaving to join Bank of America to run its natural resources advisory team. The report said that Credit Suisse did not comment on McKessar’s move but said the bank has “a deep bench in investment banking and continues to hire across the Asia Pacific region.” A spokeswoman for UBS confirmed the contents of the memo, it said.