Julius Baer has had a good start to the year with a healthy increase in assets under management. It will have come as a relief to CEO Bernhard Hodler, who was given little credit after taking over from the charismatic ex-boss Boris Collardi.
Assets under management at the Zurich-based private bank rose 3 percent to a record 401 billion Swiss francs by the end of April, according to a statement released on Wednesday. In absolute numbers, the increase amounted to 13 billion francs.
The numbers for the bank of CEO Bernhard Hodler are better than expected. Net new money increased 5 percent, right in the middle of Julius Baer’s target range of 4 to 6 percent. The strongest increases came from customers in Europe, Switzerland and Asia.
CIR: Improvement Due to Earnings Growth
In its interim statement, the private bank doesn’t report on its earnings. The cost-income ratio was improved to 67 percent and also was within the target range of 64 to 68 percent.
Julius Baer said that the improved ratio was testimony to the sustained increase in assets under management and earnings growth, which had been faster than the increase in costs due to investments in technology and the hiring of new relationship managers.
No News on Legal Risks
The private bank also reported that it successfully introduced the T24 core banking system developed by Temenos at its Asian division in March. The system is seen as the technological and operative basis for the further expansion of the bank in the region.
The company didn’t comment on potential risks from legal affairs. The private bank has seen its reputation tarnished slightly by an alleged implication into affairs surrounding FIFA, Venezuela and a Russian arms deal set up by a Swiss manufacturer. Hodler incidentally had been the head of risk of Julius Baer before taking over from Boris Collardi, when the latter jumped ship in November 2017.
