Barclays Wealth is expanding its team of Latin America-focused professionals, hiring in the Americas and Switzerland.

Barclays Wealth, part of the UK-listed bank, has expanded its global team catering to the Latin American ultra
high net worth market, hiring in the Americas and Switzerland.

In the Americas,
Narciso Muñoz has been hired as an investment representative, based
at the firm's Miami office. He joins from HSBC's international
private banking division, where he spent seven years working with
ultra-wealthy Latin American individuals and families. Before joining
HSBC, he worked at BankBoston in Argentina with both individual and
institutional clients. He reports to
Richard Hutchison, manager of the Barclays Wealth representative
office in Buenos Aires.

In
Swtizerland, Isaac Topel and Andres Cazenave are joining Barclays
Wealth's Geneva office as private bankers. They both latterly worked
at JP Morgan, specializing in Swiss-based Latin American clients.
They report to Thomas Roiz, market head for Latin America,
International Private Bank, Europe, the Middle East and Africa

The private bank
views the Latin American UHNW market as a “priority area for
expansion,” due to the growth the region has seen over the past
decade, said Steve Houston, head of wealth management, Americas. Its
global team serving this market is currently 70 strong, and is
expected to grow considerably over the next few years. In addition
to the latest hires, Barclays earlier this year brought in Daniel
Esslinger as a managing director and head of Latin American
relationship management and distribution in the Americas, as well as
Roiz. Esslinger is based in Miami while Roiz is located in Geneva.

The hires
reflect how the firm is serving this market both from the US and
internationally. Some two-thirds of the LatAm team are currently based in
the US, including Louis Tinoco, René Joliot, Edgar Ramirez and Romel
Rodriguez, who joined Barclays from UBS Wealth Management; Ruben
Lesmes and Tony Esses from HSBC Private Bank, and Jorge Carreras and
Carlos Molina from the private wealth management division of Morgan
Stanley Smith Barney.

In the US, the
expansion of the Latin American team forms part of a wider build out
of the wealth management operation, to which Barclays has added a
number of staff over the past 18 months. It currently has 13 offices
across the Americas, including the Barclays Wealth Trustees (US)
business, and some 250 investment representatives.