UBP continues hiring spree, appoints COO from Citi

* Latest in a series of executive appointments at UBP * New COO was Citi's Europe, MidEast, Africa consumer COO

ZURICH Nov 2 (Reuters) - Swiss private bank Union Bancaire Privee hired risk-management specialist Ian Cramb as chief operating officer, the latest step in what is fast turning into a root and branch overhaul of key positions.

The bank is anxious to reinforce its risk management credentials after negative investment returns and exposure to the Madoff scandal dented its reputation among investors last year.

UBP also named Cramb -- who worked at Citigroup (C.N) from 1992, where his last role was consumer chief operating officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) -- to the bank's executive committee, it said in a statement on Monday.

UBP is also keen to revive its flagging fund of hedge funds unit, where negative performance and investor redemptions almost halved assets from a peak of 45 billion Swiss francs ($44.07 billion) last year to 25.7 billion at the end of June.

Earlier this year the bank named its first-ever chief investment officer, Sarah Sprung, along with Jonathan Morgan as head of research in alternatives to oversee the list of approved fund managers. [ID:nLJ529400]

UBP has also re-vamped its hedge fund selection process by insisting on independent administrators and custodians. (Reporting by Martin de Sa'Pinto; Editing by Hans Peters) ($1=1.021 Swiss Franc)