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A veteran private banker, Classen had been asked
to lead the integration of the two private banks, but has
declined the offer and will leave Coutts within the coming two
to three weeks, the source said.
The 52-year-old's exit follows the departure of two of the
regional heads of the business after Geneva-based UBP agreed
last month to buy the international arm of 300-year-old British
wealth manager Coutts.
RBS is keeping Coutts' UK business, which counts Britain's royal
family among its customers.
The buyer, UBP, is privately held by the Picciotto family and
run by the founder's son, Guy de Picciotto.
The purchase of Coutts International, which is based in
Switzerland, is part of an aggressive expansion by UBP, but the
bank is reliant on retaining key private bankers to make a
success of the deal.
In four years at the helm, Classen has sold the bank's Latin
American, Caribbean and African private banking arms to Royal
Bank of Canada and shut smaller businesses in Europe.
Like dozens of banks in Switzerland, the Coutts unit has entered
a program with the U.S. Department of Justice to avoid
prosecution for helping wealthy Americans evade taxes.
A spokeswoman for Coutts had no comment on whether Classen was
planning to leave. UBP did not immediately respond to requests
for comment on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Katharina Bart; Editing by Keith Weir)
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