Chief Executive Officer Stefan Bollinger and Chairman Noel Quinn are seeking to refocus the bank after losses linked to the collapse of Rene Benko’s real estate empire prompted the wealth manager to shake up its top management. Swiss regulator Finma is currently conducting an investigation into the affair.
Julius Baer said it has completed a credit review announced in May and has decided to “manage down a subset of loan book positions” primarily in residential and commercial real estate, amounting to 700 million francs.
The bank announced that Victoria McLean is joining the bank from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to take on the newly established chief compliance officer role, also becoming a member of the executive board. As McLean will not start before the end of February 2026, the bank is not in a position to ask Finma for a resumption of buybacks until that happens, Bollinger said on a call with journalists Monday.
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After writing off US$700 million in loans when Benko’s conglomerate unravelled in late 2023, Baer shut down its private-debt business and has been winding down its private-debt loan book.
The stock has been one of the worst-performing among the European banks this year.
As part of his turnaround plan, the new CEO has slashed the top management ranks and announced hundreds of job cuts.
Monday’s release signalled that the bank is making progress on controlling costs, with the adjusted cost-income ratio at 66%, down from last year and in line with the bank’s targets.
