On the prowl

1 February 2021 By Lisa Jucca Follow @LJucca

The $13 bln Swiss private bank escaped serious penalties for money laundering sins and boosted net profit by 50%. That gives CEO Philipp Rickenbacher a strong foundation if regulators lift a ban on deals. Rivals EFG International or Edmond de Rothschild may be attractive targets.

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Julius Baer on Feb. 1 reported a 50% year-on-year rise in 2020 net profit to 698 million Swiss francs.

Switzerland’s third-largest listed bank said it would propose a dividend of 1.75 Swiss francs per share, up 17%, and would launch a 450 million Swiss franc share buyback.

Chief Executive Philipp Rickenbacher said he expected Swiss financial regulator FINMA to lift a ban on large acquisitions this year. The watchdog imposed the ban on the wealth manager last year because of failings in anti-money laundering controls.

Julius Baer said it had taken a provision of 73 million Swiss francs to settle a U.S. investigation into money laundering and corruption surrounding global soccer body FIFA.

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