Zurich-headquartered EFG International has opened an office of EFG Bank, its Swiss private banking business, in Lugano.

The office will have an initial team of six client relationship officers led by Piergiuseppe Vescovi, formerly a director responsible for wealth management at the Lugano branch of Banque de Dépôts et de Gestion. He has held a variety of senior banking roles in Lugano and the wider Ticino region.

Vescovi is joined by CROs Massimo Beffa, Paola Gilardini, Christian Kuehne, Marco Nani and Laurent Poulin, all experienced banking professionals (averaging 24 years in the industry).

EFG International is already represented in Lugano by On Finance (acquired at the start of 2008), a financial services boutique focused on independent investment managers and family offices.

The decision to open an office of EFG Bank in Lugano reflects, the bank says, its ambitious plans for the Ticino region and for the Swiss business more generally. The new office will report to Walter Arnold, head of private banking in Zurich.

Among recent developments at EFG, the Swiss firm said this August that it will sponsor the Renault Formula 1 team for the remaining races of the 2010 season. In April, EFG Bank recruited former UBS senior banker Walter Arnold as its new head of private banking in Zurich.