What used to be but a rumor has now been confirmed: Julius Baer has turned the page in Venezuela and sold its remaining client deposits to a rival European bank.
Zurich-based Julius Baer wants a clean sweep in Venezuela: the private bank has sold the client portfolios it still held in the Latin American country to Spain’s Bank Santander, according to a report by «Neue Zuercher Zeitung».
The sale primarily affected clients with deposits worth less than $20 million. The transaction had been mooted in earlier media reports.
Finma Probe
The buyer of the deposits retained the right to look closely into the background of the clients it assumed. With the deal, Julius Baer, which in April had decided to stop serving clients with assets of less than $1.5 million in the country, is now closing the chapter in Venezuela altogether.
Finma, the Swiss banking regulator, is looking into how Julius Baer handled the clients’ business in Venezuela, primarily in relation with politically exposed persons.
A former relationship manager of the bank was arrested and sentenced in the summer on money-laundering charges. The bank was not involved in the investigation against its former employee.
