Catlin's investment chief gets Close call

City bank Close Brothers today appointed former JPMorgan banker Preben Prebensen as chief executive to succeed Colin Keogh.

Prebensen, a 52-year-old British-Norwegian, takes over on 1 April, ending the six-and-a-half-year reign of Keogh, who rejected a number of takeover bids from rivals including Cenkos Securities and Icelandic bank Landsbanki.

The offers were made at about £10 a share. The shares today fell 1¾p to 508p.

Prebensen was at JPMorgan from 1978 to 2001, including time as co-head of European investment banking and chairman of the London Management Committee.

He joins Close, one of the few remaining independent merchant banks, from property insurer Catlin, where he is chief investment officer. He joined Catlin in 2006 following its takeover of Wellington Underwriting, where he was chief executive.

Close chairman Strone Macpherson said: "I am delighted Preben has agreed to join Close Brothers. He brings a wealth of experience, strategic insight and capital markets expertise."