ZURICH: Julius Baer will implement more cost-saving measures amounting to 130 million Swiss francs ($159.02 million) by 2028, the Swiss private bank said on Tuesday, as CEO Stefan Bollinger seeks to turn the page on past setbacks and restore confidence.
The wealth manager announced a writedown of 130 million Swiss francs last month, which followed losses of 586 million Swiss francs made public early last year, leading to a management shake-up.
Bollinger took over as CEO in January, and ex-HSBC chief Noel Quinn joined the bank as its new chairman in May.
Julius Baer said it was targeting an adjusted cost-to-income ratio of less than 67% and aiming for a 4–5% net new money growth target by 2028, in a strategy update.
Shares were down 2% in early trading.
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“Julius Baer’s new strategy under recently-appointed CEO Stefan Bollinger is based on fairly conservative assumptions, which should make new targets achievable, but equally those new targets are well-below market expectations,” Citi analysts said in a research note.
The bank had already announced a gross cost savings target of 110 million Swiss francs by end-2025, which it anticipated to exceed by around 20 million Swiss francs.
“Julius Baer is committed to upgrading its risk and compliance management processes and accountability throughout the organisation,” it said on Tuesday.
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