Julius Baer records £6.4bn in new money after Credit Suisse collapse
Swiss private bank Julius Baer has reaped the rewards of Credit Suisse’s collapse as it reported net inflows in the first half of the year.
In the six months to June, the bank attracted CHF7.1bn (£6.4) in new money from wealthy clients, helping to bring assets under management to CHF441bn. This compared to net outflows of CHF1.1bn in the same period last year, when clients were spooked by geopolitical and economic volatility.
Profit at Julius Baer increased by 18 per cent to CHF532m, boosting by higher interest income which offset falling fee revenue.
Philipp Rickenbacher, chief executive said “with many uncertainties affecting client and market sentiment, Julius Baer has again demonstrated its attractiveness to clients and as an employer.”
Julius Baer is one of a number of Swiss banks which has sought to capitalise on the collapse of Credit Suisse earlier this year. Over the course of the year its shares are trading around 10 per cent higher.
The bank hired 57 full-time relationship managers in an attempt to capitalise on the opportunities that Credit Suisse’s collapse presents. Analysts at Barclays said this should help new money generation over time.
“We are looking for the group to continue hiring, to benefit from the UBS acquisition of Credit Suisse,” the Barclays analysts said.
Deutsche Bank analyst Benjamin Goy noted that Credit Suisse’s collapse has been a “watershed moment for the industry”.
However, he expected the benefits would take longer to play out for Julius Baer than a few months.
“In the case of Julius Baer we think it has the potential to be a major accelerator over the next two to three years rather than in two or three tumultuous months,” Goy wrote.