(Bloomberg) Credit Suisse’s go-to banker for Russian billionaires has been retained by UBS Group AG, in one of the highest-profile moves yet for the merged bank’s wealth management business. Babak Dastmaltschi is working at a new unit in UBS’s wealth division that regroups an elite crop of senior private bankers from both UBS and Credit Suisse who handle some of the most important client relationships, according to people familiar with the matter who didn’t want to be named discussing personnel decisions. The unit, called GWM Strategic Clients, is run by Benjamin Cavalli, another Credit Suisse import, who reports directly to the head of UBS’s global wealth unit, Iqbal Khan. UBS’s former head for the Middle East, Ali Janoudi, also joined the group as an executive chairman. Dastmaltschi will hold an executive vice chair title, the people said. Dastmaltschi did not respond to an emailed request for comment. UBS declined to comment. UBS is trying to retain many of Credit Suis
Credit Suisse Group AG and UBS Group AG are among the banks under scrutiny in a US Justice Department probe into whether financial professionals helped Russian oligarchs evade sanctions, according to people familiar with the matter.
(Bloomberg) Credit Suisse Group AG and UBS Group AG are among the banks under scrutiny in a US Justice Department probe into whether financial professionals helped Russian oligarchs evade sanctions, according to people familiar with the matter. The Swiss banks were included in a recent wave of subpoenas sent out by the US government, the people said. The information requests were sent before the crisis that engulfed Credit Suisse and resulted in UBS’s proposed takeover of its rival. Subpoenas also went to employees of some major US banks, two people with knowledge of the inquiries, said. The Justice Department inquiries are focused on identifying which bank employees dealt with sanctioned clients and how those clients were vetted over the past several years, according to one of the people. Those bankers and advisers may then be subject to further investigation to determine if they broke any laws. Credit Suisse and UBS both declined to comment. Read More: Credit Suisse’s Rich Vein
As Estonia and Lithuania push for European nations to send warships into the Black Sea to protect freighters carrying Ukrainian grain from potential Kremlin interference.