Bank Sarasin, the Basel-based private bank, has announced it will shut its Spanish joint venture two years after opening, leaving nine staff members without jobs, including head Alfredo Fernandez.

Sarasin's Spanish subsidiary Sarasin Alén Agencia de Valores, a joint venture with Spanish bank Alén Gestión Patrimonial in La Coruña, will close due to adverse market conditions and disappointing business results, according to a spokesman.