Julius Bär bank turns profit amid Swiss banking upheaval

Julius Bär profited less than expected in the immediate aftermath of the Credit Suisse meltdown; things might now be turning around. © Keystone / Ennio Leanza

The Zurich-based private bank has posted positive results for the first half of 2023. It says it has benefitted from the emergency merger between UBS and Credit Suisse.

The bank said on Monday it had boosted net profits by 18% over the past year, to CHF531.4 million ($613.5 million). This was largely thanks to a rise in interest rates, it said.

However, the bank also exceeded expectations when it came to net fund inflows, which came to CHF7.1 billion over the year. Assets under management at the end of June 2023 totalled CHF441 billion, up 4% compared to December 2022.

The figures mark a shift compared to the meagre 1% rise in assets announced in May, which led to the bank’s stock price slumping.

+ Read more: where did it all go wrong for Credit Suisse?

The bank’s CEO Philipp Rickenbacher said it had benefitted from the situation involving rivals UBS and Credit Suisse, which merged earlier this year after the spectacular near-collapse of the latter.

However, Rickenbacher did not say how much of the fresh inflows came from former clients of the other banks. The new money came from “various sources” he said.

Rickenbacher did confirm that the bank had already hired new staff from both UBS and Credit Suisse – the influence of these new employees will show itself in the next few years, he said.

+ In June, the UBS CEO said about 10% of Credit Suisse staff had left

Bloomberg reported last month that UBS plans to cut more than half of Credit Suisse’s 45,000-strong workforce starting in July.