Clariden Leu, the private bank being integrated into Credit Suisse, has seen the loss of a Middle East team from its Zurich office to Julius Baer.

Clariden Leu, the private bank soon to be integrated into Credit Suisse, has seen the mass defection of an 18-strong Middle Eastern team from its Zurich office to Julius Baer’s office in Switzerland’s largest city, WealthBriefing understands.

The team is said to have comprised 10 relationship managers and 8 support staff, under the leadership of Daniel Savary.

A spokesperson for Julius Baer declined to comment on the matter.

At Clariden Leu, a spokesperson said: "Our private banking chief executive, Hans-Ulrich Meister, said last week at the earnings call that the Clariden Leu integration [by Credit Suisse] is very well on track. And he reiterated that we strongly believe that Credit Suisse offers the probably best wealth management platform for clients and their advisors." The spokesperson declined to comment on specific story about any moves by staff to Julius Baer.

Media reports have said that the team, which will be integrated into Julius Baer’s existing Middle East desk, had SFr3 billion ($3.3 billion) in assets under management.

The move may suggest that differences in the working cultures of Clariden Leu and Credit Suisse are proving difficult for some employees of the former firm, who are used to more freedoms in the jurisdictions where they work and are paid a higher share of revenues than is the case at Credit Suisse, a recruiter told this publication. 

A widely-read German language blog called InsideParadeplatz, has said that Julius Baer is trying to lure more staff over from Clariden Leu and suggested that another team lead by Anthony Cagiati and worth SFr5-10 billion may be about to jump ship at the end of this month - either to join Clariden Leu or to form their own firm.

If correct, news of the departures must be particularly unwelcome as it would follow hot on the heels of media reports that Clariden Leu’s Singapore division is being sued after allowing the 19-year old son of a client to make risky trades on his father's account.

Ian Ow and his father Ow Weng Fye want compensation of S$896,871 ($715,607) from Clariden Leu and their former banker Aaron Chwee, after Ow was allowed to trade futures contracts, which resulted in losses, Bloomberg reported.

The lawsuit has reportedly been filed at the Singapore High Court, and a closed hearing is scheduled for next month.