Goldman Sachs has reportedly recruited former UBS banker and structured-lending specialist Charles Hannant as it looks to bolster its operations in the ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) segment.
Hannant will join the New York-headquartered bank early next year, Bloomberg reported citing an unnamed person privy to the appointment.
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The appointment has not been made public by Goldman Sachs.
Hannant worked with UBS for about five years. He was part of the UBS’s unit that lends sizeable amounts to affluent clients of its investment bank and wealth management arms.
Prior to that, he worked with Credit Suisse’s cross-divisional lending unit until 2017.
Spokespeople for Goldman Sachs and UBS refused to comment on the report.
The appointment is part of Goldman Sachs’ strategy to fortify its wealth management and consumer banking business under a strategy outlined by CEO David Solomon to minimise its dependency on trading.
This year, the bank poached around nine private wealth advisers in the UK from rival firms, including Julius Baer, Barclays and Union Bancaire Privee.
It hired former UBS executive Gabriel Aractingi to lead its business private wealth in the Middle East, where it is planning beef up the team.
UHNW individuals are said to be increasingly relying on large loans with low interest rates and assets appreciating value. These loans, which can be secured by homes or company stakes, helps people avoid selling their assets for the money.
Other moves by Goldman Sachs
Earlier this month, Goldman Sachs partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to roll out a new suite of cloud-based data and analytics solutions for financial institutions.
In October this year, the firm secured a regulatory nod to acquire the remaining 49% equity interest in its Chinese securities joint venture.
In September, it announced a plan to float the assets of its Petershill Partners unit on the London Stock Exchange to take advantage of the ongoing private equity boom.
