Focus on wealthy clients: Julius Baer takes out the red pen – and aims to grow in the medium term

After months of turbulence, the Swiss private bank Julius Baer plans to return to the offensive. CEO Stefan Bollinger presented a new strategy in London that aims to return the bank to growth by 2028.

The bank's CEO, who has been in office since January, draws an initial conclusion after 20 weeks: "Since January, we have made significant progress on several levels to strengthen our organization and solidify the trust of all our stakeholders," said Bollinger. Now it's time to unleash the bank's full potential.

Ambitious growth targets

The new medium-term targets are ambitious: Julius Baer is targeting annual net new money growth of 4 to 5 percent by 2028. The adjusted cost/income ratio is expected to fall below 67 percent. The bank also aims for a return on equity of at least 30 percent.

To achieve these goals, Bollinger has defined five strategic priorities. The core of these priorities is to drive growth in its core wealth management business while simultaneously increasing efficiency. The bank intends to focus even more strongly on high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients.

Savings round worth millions

At the same time, Julius Baer is significantly reducing costs. In addition to the savings already announced, the bank aims to save an additional CHF 130 million by 2028. The bank estimates the implementation costs at approximately half of this amount.

The measures are to be achieved primarily through process optimization and IT simplification. A particular focus is on reducing material costs. According to the bank, they will exceed the current cost program for 2023 to 2025 by around CHF 20 million.

Since Bollinger took office in January, Julius Baer has adjusted its leadership and management structures , reduced the Executive Board, and introduced a new Global Wealth Management Committee. Furthermore, the regional organization was streamlined and a new Global Products & Solutions unit was established. Risk management was also restructured, with Ivan Ivanic as the new Chief Risk Officer starting in July .

The bank is also withdrawing from its onshore Brazilian business and entering Italy. A new competence center for high-net-worth clients is intended to improve service.

Share buybacks on hold

A disappointment for shareholders: The Board of Directors does not intend to launch any new share buyback programs for the time being. They are initially awaiting the green light from the Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), they said. However, the basic dividend policy remains unchanged.