Based in Geneva, Sednaoui will also head up the restructuring effort of the group’s private banking and wealth management business unit, the firm said. 

Previously, Sednaoui was CEO of Barclays Bank (Suisse), and has also worked for Bankers Trust Company, Credit Agricole and Citicorp.

Bank Audi said it is seeking to develop its franchise in Switzerland, where it has been operating for 35 years, so as to make it the hub of its private banking and wealth management activities by channelling "significant resources" into this initiative.

The bank was established in Switzerland in 1976 and specialises in wealth management and administration in the form of investment management, investment advisory services, placing deposits on a fiduciary basis and extending secured lending for private customers.

Bank Audi - which also has a branch in Gibraltar and a representative office in Lebanon - had $28.7 billion in assets at end December 2011, which the firm says was driven primarily by private customers’ deposits of $24.8 billion, with shareholders’ equity reaching $2.4 billion.