Swiss bank Julius Baer taps Goldman Sachs executive as CEO
Appointment likely puts potential tie-up with EFG on ice
Shares rise following announcement
Designation welcomed by analysts, new CEO still unknown quantity
Adds further comments from industry figures, paragraphs 10-11, 13-14
By John Revill and Oliver Hirt
ZURICH, July 23 (Reuters) -Julius Baer BAER.S on Tuesday named Goldman Sachs GS.N partner Stefan Bollinger its new CEO, as the Swiss private bank seeks to move on from the multi-million dollar Signa debacle.
Previous chief Philipp Rickenbacher was ousted in February after the wealth manager had to write down 586 million Swiss francs on loans to Signa, the failed property group controlled by Austrian magnate Rene Benko.
Bollinger, co-head of private wealth management for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Goldman Sachs in London, will join Julius Baer no later than Feb. 1, 2025, the Swiss bank said.
The appointment is likely to end any immediate prospect of a potential 15 billion Swiss franc ($16.85 billion) merger between Julius Baer and its smaller peer EFG International EFGN.S, which had been under discussion, analysts said.
Bank Vontobel analyst Andreas Venditti said while Bollinger's appointment had not "completely changed" the picture, he would need to settle in before any further moves on the deal were likely.
"As long as he's not in place, and until he's got familiar with the job, nothing will happen," Venditti said as he welcomed the appointment.
The respective valuations of the two banks also meant the tie-up was currently "not optimal" for Julius Baer, Venditti added.
Reuters last month reported that Julius Baer and EFG had scrapped talks on a prospective merger, which had considered bringing in the latter's CEO to lead the combined entity, because of regulatory concerns about the deal.
Julius Baer's shares rose by as much as 1.6% in early trade. Industry insiders said Bollinger had the skills and experience to succeed, noting an important part of role will be smoothing relations with regulators.
The 50-year-old executive was described as being at home with large customers, an important consideration at the bank where around a third of the customers are described as ultra wealthy - with investible assets of more than 30 million francs.
Analysts noted that Bollinger had a good track record at Goldman. "He understands the entire business - strategy, customer contact, products. He's a charming guy and he can motivate people," said a source.
"Stefan has a great network, he's at home in the world of the wealthy."
Some cautioned though that he was still an unknown quantity in a top job.
"(Bollinger) does not have experience running a large, public company such as Baer and does not seem to have a great deal of Asian experience (a key growth pillar)," Keefe, Bruyette & Woods said in a research note.
RISK PROFILE
Julius Baer Chairman Romeo Lacher praised Bollinger's record and said he had played a major role in expanding Goldman Sachs' presence in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Under his leadership over the past five years, Goldman's private wealth management business in Europe, Middle East and Africa had more than doubled its assets under management.
"Stefan led and built outstanding businesses, most of them at the intersection of wealth management and capital markets," Lacher said, noting Bollinger's "comprehensive understanding of risk", a key consideration after the Signa case.
Bollinger, a Swiss citizen, started his career at Zuercher Kantonalbank and also worked at JP Morgan before joining Goldman Sachs, where he had been a partner for 14 years.
"I am excited to be joining Julius Baer," he said.
He will be charged with steering Julius Baer to calmer waters after the Signa writedowns, and the announcement it was exiting the private debt business.
In the last 12 months the bank, which manages 417 billion francs in assets, has seen its share price drop 8%.
($1 = 0.8890 Swiss francs)
Reporting by John Revill; Additional reporting by Oliver Hirt, Dave Graham and Stefania Spezzati; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Jacqueline Wong, Louise Heavens and Jan Harvey
Ativos relacionados
Últimas notícias
Isenção de Responsabilidade: As entidades do XM Group proporcionam serviço de apenas-execução e acesso à nossa plataforma online de negociação, permitindo a visualização e/ou uso do conteúdo disponível no website ou através deste, o que não se destina a alterar ou a expandir o supracitado. Tal acesso e uso estão sempre sujeitos a: (i) Termos e Condições; (ii) Avisos de Risco; e (iii) Termos de Responsabilidade. Este, é desta forma, fornecido como informação generalizada. Particularmente, por favor esteja ciente que os conteúdos da nossa plataforma online de negociação não constituem solicitação ou oferta para iniciar qualquer transação nos mercados financeiros. Negociar em qualquer mercado financeiro envolve um nível de risco significativo de perda do capital.
Todo o material publicado na nossa plataforma de negociação online tem apenas objetivos educacionais/informativos e não contém — e não deve ser considerado conter — conselhos e recomendações financeiras, de negociação ou fiscalidade de investimentos, registo de preços de negociação, oferta e solicitação de transação em qualquer instrumento financeiro ou promoção financeira não solicitada direcionadas a si.
Qual conteúdo obtido por uma terceira parte, assim como o conteúdo preparado pela XM, tais como, opiniões, pesquisa, análises, preços, outra informação ou links para websites de terceiras partes contidos neste website são prestados "no estado em que se encontram", como um comentário de mercado generalizado e não constitui conselho de investimento. Na medida em que qualquer conteúdo é construído como pesquisa de investimento, deve considerar e aceitar que este não tem como objetivo e nem foi preparado de acordo com os requisitos legais concebidos para promover a independência da pesquisa de investimento, desta forma, deve ser considerado material de marketing sob as leis e regulações relevantes. Por favor, certifique-se que leu e compreendeu a nossa Notificação sobre Pesquisa de Investimento não-independente e o Aviso de Risco, relativos à informação supracitada, os quais podem ser acedidos aqui.
