Julius Bär announces share buyback worth up to CHF600 million
Julius Bär intends to buy back its own shares worth up to CHF600 million ($725 million). The bank has received approval from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) to do so, after the authority announced on Tuesday that it had concluded its investigation into the Signa debacle.
Julius Bär announced on Friday that the share buybacks are now set to begin in the coming weeks and be completed within a year. The implementation will depend on prevailing market conditions. The shares will be purchased via a secondary trading line on the SIX Swiss Exchange.
At the same time, the asset management bank announced a revision to its capital distribution policy. According to this, between 40% and 60% of the IFRS consolidated profit is to continue to be distributed in future. The aim is to pay a progressive dividend per share, provided no exceptional events occur.
With regard to capitalisation, Julius Bär remains committed to maintaining a “solid capital base” with a target Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 15%. As at mid-2026, the bank’s CET1 capital ratio stood at 18.5%.
The revised capital policy reflects the business’s strong capital-generating nature, according to board chairman Noel Quinn, who is quoted in the press release. Surplus capital will be returned to shareholders, while at the same time maintaining the financial strength and flexibility required to achieve the confirmed financial targets for the current 2026–2028 cycle.
Immediate measures relaxed
On Tuesday, FINMA announced that it had concluded its enforcement proceedings against Julius Bär, which had been ongoing for almost two years, relating to the heavy losses on loans to the collapsed property group Signa, owned by the Austrian investor René Benko.
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Swiss financial watchdog ends Julius Bär proceedings
At the same time, the supervisory authority had eased or lifted certain emergency measures relating to capital and liquidity that had been imposed during the investigation. In an initial response, Julius Bär had already stated that it had immediately applied to FINMA for authorisation to carry out share buybacks.
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