UBS has launched a campaign to hold on to clients of its UK wealth management business after suffering its second mass defection of bankers in two years.

The Swiss bank is planning to integrate its UK stockbroking arm with the rest of its private banking business, and has started contacting more than 10,000 clients as part of an effort to formally transfer their accounts. The move comes after more than 50 UBS employees resigned at the end of May to join Vestra, a start-up wealth management firm founded by David Scott, a former UBS executive. It was the second large-scale defection suffered by UBS after staff left in 2006 to join Cheviot Asset Management.