He will leave UBP at the end of February and will not be replaced, the bank confirmed in a statement. UBP is currently headed up by Michael's cousin, chief executive Guy de Picciotto, whose father Edgar de Picciotto, chairman of the board of directors, founded the bank in 1969.

The news comes shortly after UBP appointed Frédéric Carbonnier as the new CEO of UBP Investment Advisors, an independent subsidiary that was created in 2014.

As recently reported, UBP saw its assets under management grow 11.5 per cent in 2015 to SFr110 billion , largely thanks to clients acquired from Coutts' operations in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Its operating profit, however, was down 7 per cent year-on-year at SFr152 million. 

In January, the bank agreed to pay US authorities a penalty of $187.767 million to avoid prosecution for helping American clients evade tax.