Julius Baer is drawing the first consequences of a scandal in its Latin American business. The Swiss private bank will withdraw from two markets.
Julius Baer is pulling out of Panama and Peru as part of a strategic review of the Latin American business, news agency Bloomberg» reported, citing sources.
The move is the first tangible element of a review under the Swiss private bank's head in the region, Beatriz Sanchez, after a prominent Julius Baer was arrested and charged in the U.S. in July. Sanchez, a former Goldman Sachs wealth manager, is concentrating more on Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina, and away from countries which have wrought problems for Julius Baer, like Venezuela.
Scouring Accounts
The bank suffered a massive hit to its reputation when it was smeared in an oil scandal which has also eclipsed hometown rival Credit Suisse. Former Julius Baer private banker Matthias Krull stands accused by U.S. prosecutors of rinsing $1.2 billion from Venezuelan state-controlled oil firm PDVSA.
The bank is thus far not in the crosshairs of American prosecutors, but Swiss regulator Finma has ordered a review and the bank is scouring its accounts, as finews.com reported earlier this month.
Rivals have seized upon Sanchez's review and the Venezuelan scandal as an opportunity to poach private bankers out of Julius Baer, as finews.com reported last week.
