Financial Times: Julius Baer eyes UK acquisition but puts London hub on hold

06 March 2017

Swiss private bank says Brexit has hit plans but sterling’s fall opens up opportunities.

Julius Baer, Switzerland’s biggest standalone private bank, sees Brexit as an opportunity to acquire a rival in the UK, according to chief executive Boris Collardi.

The bank, with a market value of SFr11.3bn ($11.2bn) and assets under management of SFr336m, already has more than 200 staff in the UK. It was planning to build a European hub there before the UK voted last year to quit the EU.

“If a UK bank became a seller (of its private bank) at some stage and approached us, probably we would look at it, on the basis it would be a contrarian move at a moment when UK assets were cheap,” Mr Collardi told the Financial Times.

“And I’m sure that in five years’ time, everybody would say, maybe it was not such a bad transaction.” Sterling has fallen 13 per cent against the Swiss franc since the June 23 vote to quit the EU. [...]

Despite its enthusiasm for a UK acquisition, Julius Baer has paused plans for a European hub there because it believes Brexit will dent the UK’s economic growth, and that “foreigners will feel a little bit less welcome”.

“There are not that many people buying new properties, everything has slowed down a bit in terms of the bubbly, European hub,” Mr Collardi said. “We’re a bit on hold in the UK. I continue to believe we have to be in London, but we need to carefully assess the situation . . . I think eventually everything is going to be all right.” [...]

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