Cooke joins Barclays Wealth

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LONDON - Mark Cooke, chief operational risk officer for Europe Middle East and Africa at UBS has been hired by Barclays Wealth to become managing director and global chief risk officer. Colin Bell, senior operational risk controller for the investment banking division at UBS, comes with Cooke to Barclays Wealth as head of risk projects.

Cooke is the latest appointment in an aggressive hiring spree at the wealth management arm of Barclays bank. Over past weeks, the bank has recruited around 20 people from the credit risk, risk management and business continuity management areas. The biggest names include Craig Lewis from Credit Suisse, who was hired to head a new investment advisory unit, as well as top former UBS relationship manager David Zelouf.

According to industry sources, the CRO position at Barclays Wealth was a long and hard-fought contest, with a large number of candidates being interviewed and discounted before Cooke was brought on board.

Cooke, who will become a member of the Barclays Wealth senior infrastructure team, reporting to Thomas Kalaris, spent the past 12 years at UBS in a number of roles. Prior to that he also worked at Deutsche Bank and Indosuez Bank.

Cooke will report to Thomas Kalaris, and will be a member of the Barclays Wealth senior infrastructure team, according to a statement from the bank.