HSBC’s Swiss Private Bank Boosts Some Banker Pay to Stem Exits

(Bloomberg) — HSBC Holdings Plc’s Swiss private bank is boosting the pay of some of its staff as it looks to ward off exits, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Swiss arm has been increasing compensation of staff, including relationship managers, according to the people, who asked not be identified discussing internal matters. The unit has seen a number of exits in recent months, including interim head John Shipman, who left last month to join Barclays Plc.

HSBC has also drafted in the chairman of its Middle East business for advice. Samir Assaf has been sent by the lender’s leadership to help the Swiss private bank, according to some of the people familiar with the matter. The former global banking and markets head, who also acts as an adviser to the bank’s chairman and chief executive officer, is spending time in Geneva as a result.

“We continue to attract top talent at HSBC and invest in our people,” HSBC said in a statement in response to a request for comment about the retention payments. “Our strategy is to significantly grow our Wealth business,” HSBC said in response to questions about Assaf’s role.

Bloomberg previously reported that HSBC’s Swiss business is in the process of ending relationships with more than 1,000 wealthy Middle Eastern clients, including many with assets exceeding $100 million.

The bank is facing scrutiny from the Swiss watchdog Finma, which has previously found that the lender’s private bank failed to carry out adequate due diligence on high-risk accounts owned by politically exposed persons. Swiss federal prosecutors have also opened a probe into the division.

Last month, HSBC said it was promoting Daniel Calado to lead the Swiss private bank on an ad interim basis after Shipman left.

Retention packages are a common incentive companies use to retain employees in times of turmoil when competitors may seek to swoop in with appealing offers. UBS Group AG, for instance, handed out about $500 million in retention packages to Credit Suisse staff it wanted to keep after the deal between Switzerland’s largest banks was announced.

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