Julius Baer Group Ltd. said it was booking a 150 million Swiss franc (US$186 million or $242.9 million) loan-loss provision as it continues to wind down lending not in line with its core wealth-management strategy.
Wealthy clients have added a net 11.7 billion Swiss francs in the ten months through October, the Zurich-based bank said in its interim statement Monday. Assets under management grew 4% in the first ten months to 520 billion Swiss francs.
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. They’re asking for patience from investors as a buyback plan remains on hold until the completion of a review into the Benko affair by the Swiss regulator Finma.
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.
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. He has cautioned that his restructuring efforts will push up expenses at first, before bearing fruit from next year.
