Vontobel exits parts of Asia business, relocates WM head

among other things, reduce business portfolio complexities and further concentrating [its] resources on profitable growth,’ stated the memo.

The Hong Kong team has been informed over the past few days with employees of the structured solutions & treasury (SST) unit being notified about the bank’s plans in a townhall on 16 November hosted by Markus Pfister (pictured), head of SST at Vontobel in Zurich.

Vontobel will cease its issuance of listed structured products in Hong Kong SAR after five and a half years in the listed market. However, its liquidity provider Vontobel Limited will ‘stand by all obligations,’ according to an internal memo seen by SRP.

The Swiss bank will reorganise its business in Asia with the merger of advisory investment solutions (structured solutions & treasury AIS) and wealth management in Asia to become the new structured solutions financial institutions unit. However, it will continue to serve institutional clients and financial intermediaries with structured solutions as well as asset management clients in the city, stated the memo.

We have decided to merge the SST AIS and WM Asia units into the new Structured Solutions Financial Institutions unit - Markus Pfister

Additionally, Vontobel will phase out custody and execution services for external asset managers (EAMs) in Singapore.

The restructuring is ‘in line with [Vontobel’s] strategy and priorities to,

Vontobel Bank is the issuer of 563 live structured products listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange – 101 derivative warrants (DWs) and 472 callable bull/ bear contracts (CBBCs) – with Vontobel Ltd acting as the liquidity provider.

As part of the restructuring, the SST’s AIS unit became structured solutions financial institutions at the year-end.

In recent years, Vontobel has significantly expanded its global distribution network for structured products, according to the bank.

‘Our investment products are offered by many international banks in Switzerland, Europe and Asia. To support this development, we have decided to merge the SST AIS and WM Asia units into the new Structured Solutions Financial Institutions unit,’ said Pfister. The new unit will be led by Georg von Wattenwyl, CEO of Vontobel Singapore and head of wealth management for Asia. He will return to Zurich towards the end of 2023 following a four-year mandate in Singapore - he will lead the structured products teams in Switzerland, Europe and Asia. Von Wattenwyl was put in charge of external asset managers business in Asia and family offices globally in 2018.

In July, the bank announced that it was phasing out its wealth management business in Hong Kong SAR.

‘We would like to thank our colleagues who, with great dedication, have successfully gained market share in the very competitive derivatives business with private clients in Hong Kong over the past years in at times turbulent markets,’ said Pfister.

‘Hong Kong is a demanding market, and our team has done an excellent job. However, a successful strategy also involves setting priorities. We have done this by deciding to focus our growth in Asia.