Julius Baer net inflows up, CEO to begin on Jan. 9 (updated)

EFG International AG

21/11/2024 08:34

(Adds context, comments from CFO in paragraphs 4-6, analyst
comment)
       ZURICH, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Swiss bank Julius Baer
 BAER.S  on Thursday reported a pick up in net new money during
July-October and said new CEO Stefan Bollinger would start on
Jan. 9.
    Baer's previous CEO Philipp Rickenbacher was ousted in
February after the wealth manager wrote down 586 million Swiss
francs ($664 million) on loans to failed property group Signa.
    The saga has hung over Baer, and Reuters reported in June
that Swiss financial market regulator FINMA's ongoing review of
the bank's risk controls scuppered talks between the lender and
EFG International  EFGN.S  over a potential tie-up.
    Speaking on a call with analysts, Baer finance chief Evie
Kostakis said she could not say when FINMA's review would
conclude and that it would be prudent to wait on share buybacks
until then.
    "Our base case assumption is that we will resume normal
capital distribution policy again next year," she said.
    Kostakis said the bank was still some distance from its cost
targets which meant further cost-saving measures could not be
ruled out in the near term.
    Net new money offered some cheer, though Citi analysts said
Baer's gross margin was below analysts' consensus estimate.
    Baer said in the first ten months of 2024, assets under
management (AUM) rose to 480 billion francs, a year-to-date
increase of 12%.
    Compared to the first half of 2024, when net inflows were
3.7 billion francs (a 1.7% annualised increase), net new money
during July–October accelerated to 7.5 billion francs, a 4.8%
annualised rate.
    The latter result included a large single transaction of
which the majority left in November, it added. Excluding this
transaction, the July–October inflow pace was 4.2%.
    The inflows came predominantly from key markets in Europe,
especially Britain and Germany, as well as Asia - notably
Singapore and India - and the Middle East, in particular the
United Arab Emirates, Baer said.
    "The impact of client deleveraging diminished meaningfully
compared to previous years," the bank said.
    In the first ten months, the number of relationship managers
increased by 46 full-time equivalents to 1,389, it said.
    ($1 = 0.8822 Swiss francs)

 (Reporting by Dave Graham and Rachel More. Editing by Mark
Potter)
 ((dave.graham@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
dave.graham.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))