Investment bankers are dusting off an old M&A scenario for Julius Baer as the bank licks its wounds following the departure of its star CEO. Will Chairman Daniel Sauter submit to the protective embrace of larger Swiss rival Credit Suisse?
Daniel Sauter is the least-known banking chairman in Switzerland: until now, Julius Baer’s energetic 43-year-old CEO Boris Collardi has done the heavy lifting, strategically as well as practically.
The 60-year-old Sauter (pictured below) intended to leave at the end of 2018, a source told finews.com, after almost seven years at the helm. A spokesman for Julius Baer denied the information, saying Sauter had no plans to step down.
Sauter’s career plans aside, his young CEO’s departure this week for the comfort of a Pictet partnership brings the lingering question for the chairman into full view: where is Julius Baer heading? Several investment bankers finews.com spoke to think they have an idea.
Wallflower Turned Force
In his nearly ten-year run, Collardi (pictured below) and his mentor before him, Alex Widmer, took the bank from a wallflower existence into a Swiss banking export to rival UBS and Credit Suisse in Asia and a force in Latin America and the Middle East. Along the way, he hired and acquired copiously and buried several scandals including a $547 million U.S. tax investigation.
With 393 billion francs in assets, Julius Baer has critical mass, but Sauter's misfortune is that after Collardi’s departure, the stock lacks sizzle.
He departed just as the nitty-gritty begins: banks can no longer «buy» net new money, as Collardi had done, successfully, for years. As finews.com reported on Monday, Julius Baer needs a credible plan to bolster growth without them, as well as cutting spending to protect profit margins.
Credit Suisse Tie-Up?
Long-standing speculation ties the bank to Credit Suisse, where Collardi and many Baer bankers started their careers. The two banks are of course fierce competitors for talented private bankers, clients and ultimately fresh assets.
The former Julius Baer CEO, who has almost doubled investors' stock gains during his tenure, has conceded that the bank makes an attractive target. He also said it wouldn’t happen – on his watch.
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