© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Julius Baer CEO Philipp Rickenbacher addresses the Finanz und Wirtschaft Forum conference in Zurich, Switzerland September 2, 2020 REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
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ZURICH (Reuters) – Julius Baer is having “constructive discussions” with Credit Suisse staff who are seeking to leave following the takeover of their bank by UBS, the chief executive of the Swiss private bank said in an interview on Monday.
Philipp Rickenbacher also told the Financial Times that he was seeing a “client movement towards quality” in Switzerland as wealthy account holders withdrew from UBS and Credit Suisse, whose business models include riskier investment banking activities.
The acquisition, designed by Swiss authorities last month, would be difficult, he told the newspaper. “An integration of that order of magnitude in Switzerland will require a lot of resources and efforts, and a lot of complexity.”
Julius Baer is the largest private bank in Switzerland. He works on behalf of wealthy individuals and does not speculate with his own capital or run his own internal asset management business.
“Our model … has worked very well for us,” Rickenbacher said.
“We have contracting opportunities in Latin America, we have contracting opportunities in Asia…and…in Europe and in Switzerland,” he said.
He expressed concern about an ongoing crisis of confidence in the banking sector in general, noting recent interest rate hikes by central banks and the tensions they were creating.
“Things will continue to be very complicated: everything that was there a month ago will not go away,” Rickenbacher said.
“There is still room for policy errors at the highest levels when it comes to interest rates… Everyone’s senses are heightened right now.”
