Karen Frank

Karen Frank, the chief executive of Barclays Private Bank and its overseas services, has resigned, I have been told by senior Barclays sources.

She has taken the “personal decision” to step down and will be seeking a new opportunity elsewhere, a Barclays spokesperson confirmed.

Ms Frank will be replaced on an interim basis by Jean-Christophe Gerard, currently head of private bank for Europe, Monaco and Switzerland, and chief executive of Barclays Monaco.

Ms Frank took on her chief executive role in October 2016 after joining Barclays in 2012. She had previously worked at Goldman Sachs as an investment banker up to 2009.

The Barclays spokesperson said, in a statement to thewealthnet: "We thank Karen for the tremendous contribution she has made during her eight-year tenure at Barclays across several senior roles.

"Karen has been instrumental in establishing Barclays Private Bank as a leading investment house with a track record of delivering strong performance to our global clients and we wish her all the best in her future endeavours."

Mr Gerard joined Barclays in 2017, initially heading investments for Barclays Private Bank and has more than 25 years’ of experience in financial markets and private banking.

At the same time, Gerald Mathieu has been appointed head of the private bank for Europe, Monaco and Switzerland in addition to his role as chief executive of BarSuisse and head of the private bank in Switzerland.

It is understood that further appointments as a result of this announcement will be made in due course.