RBS Wealth International appoints Gerhard H Mnller as CEO

Aug 11, 2009

Mnller's new role includes responsibility for Asia where Nick Pollard has been appointed head of private banking Asia for RBS Coutts.

RBS Wealth Management announced yesterday that it has appointed Gerhard H Müller as the new head of its international private banking arm RBS Wealth International. The appointment is effective immediately.

In Switzerland, Müller is already CEO of RBS Coutts Bank which includes three private banking divisions that cover Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Europe and Switzerland. He will now also assume management responsibility for the Asian private banking divisions and an international private banking team based in London. In his new role he will be appointed to the executive committee of RBS Wealth Management.

Müller has been with Coutts in Switzerland since 1994 and has served as a member of the executive management of RBS Coutts, formerly Coutts Bank von Ernst, for the past 10 years. He has held various management positions, including chief financial officer and chief risk officer, and has led RBS Coutts Bank since 2006.

Hanspeter Brunner had been CEO of RBS Wealth International and, together with Müller, joint CEO of RBS Coutts Bank Ltd. According to an announcement, after 12 years, Brunner is now leaving the bank.

The Asian private banking division of RBS Coutts will now be managed by Nick Pollard who will report to Müller. Pollard is currently managing director of Coutts & Co in the UK. His new title will be head of private banking Asia, RBS Coutts, and he will continue to attend the executive committee of RBS Wealth Management.

John Baines, chief executive of the RBS Wealth Management division said in a press release: "Nick Pollard will be a great addition to the international team and will be able to bring his considerable private banking experience, both in the UK and internationally, to the Asian divisions of RBS Coutts."

The RBS wealth management division is split in two businesses: Wealth UK, offering onshore UK private banking; and wealth international, offering offshore international private banking to wealthy individuals. RBS Coutts Bank forms part of the international private banking arm and is a sister company to Coutts & Co in the UK.