The Swiss private bank snapped up a $5 billion Brazilian wealth manager to bolster its standing with rich Latin American clients, as it reported a 14 percent rise in full-year profit.
The Zurich-based bank said it will pay an undisclosed amount to buy São Paulo-based Reliance Group, a wealth manager with 17 billion Brazilian reals (5 billion Swiss francs) in assets from its 13 partners, in a statement on its website.
The move is Julius Baer's second sizable acquisition in Brazil after that of GPS, which it bought in two stages. The latest deal lifts the bank's assets in Brazil to 13 billion Swiss francs.
The deal also comes amid a local handover as well as one atop Julius Baer: long-standing Latin America head Gustavo Raitzin retired last month, and was replaced by former Goldman Sachs banker Beatriz Sanchez.
Collardi's Legacy
The deal is the first under Bernhard Hodler, a Julius Baer veteran who has been CEO for all of two months. The risk expert was unexpectedly vaulted into the CEO spot in November, after long-standing CEO Boris Collardi (pictured below; Keystone image) defected for Pictet & Cie.
Also on Tuesday, the bank reported a 14 percent rise in its annual profit to 705 million Swiss francs, lifted its dividend, and topped its money-gathering targets – Collardi's legacy.
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