Switzerland’s oldest private bank, Wegelin
& Co has sold its non-US private banking business to Raifeissen
Group in response to US regulatory pressure.
Wegelin & Co will now be run as an
independent private bank, Notestein Private Bank, within the
Raifeissen group.
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Some 700 Wegelin staff have been transferred
with the acquisition.
The purchase price has not been disclosed.
Dramatic reversal
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By GlobalDataThe dramatic sale is a major reversal from
Wegelin’s position earlier this month, when it issued a bold
statement saying a US indictment of Wegelin or a Wegelin partner
was not a danger to the bank itself.
Wegelin’s defiance came after US prosecutors
charged three of its Swiss bankers for conspiring with US taxpayers
to hide more than $1.2bn in taxable assets from the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS).
Adrian Kuenzi, previously head of Wegelin
& Co’s Western Swiss business, will be the new CEO of Notestein
Private Bank.
Wegelin & Co said it will continue US-only
business for US clients and as counterparty in dealings with US
authorities.
