The Swiss private bank has grappled with its home market for years. Now on its third boss in four years, the Swiss arm's role in the wider bank is being minimized.
The exit of Gian Rossi, a 13-year veteran of Julius Baer, in a management shuffle is notable: his exit is emblematic of the Swiss private bank's vulnerability at home. After several false starts under previous management, the unit is quietly being buried into the wider European organization under Yves Robert-Charrue.
The biggest push came in 2016 under Barend Fruithof. The ex-Credit Suisse star wanted to attack Switzerland's larger banks by winning entrepreneur and ultra-rich clients, but was ousted in a management shuffle a short time later. Rossi, a close associate of then-CEO Boris Collardi, stepped in as a fixer.
Fulsome Praise
Rossi had already led the German-speaking part of Switzerland when he was promoted in 2016. Nevertheless, the challenge of increasing market share in the highly-fragmented Swiss market dominated by UBS and Credit Suisse proved difficult.
CEO Philipp Rickenbacher lauded Rossi as «equally influential in expanding our footprint in international markets as he was in cementing our strong position in Switzerland – we will build on his achievements and wish him all the best for his future.» The fulsome plaudits raise the question of they the bank would want to let go of the talented and loyal banker.
Costly Home Market
Julius Baer has 14 offices in Switzerland including in Kreuzlingen, a lakeside town of 22,000 on the border to Germany. That's dwarfed by the more than 100 that UBS maintains, but for Julius Baer, which never managed to lift market share of more than four to five percent, it is enormous – and costly.
Just 15 percent of the bank's overall assets are Swiss-based (for comparison, one-quarter is from Asia or India), and the business was encumbered with an extensive sweep of its accounts. Since domestic wealth management is barely growing, acquisitions are quick way to bolster assets – but Julius Baer missed out on Notenstein La Roche last year.
The Swiss bank's quietly burying Switzerland into wider Europe, the Middle East, and Africa under Yves Robert-Charrue is a tacit admission that its ambitions at home didn't pan out. The move is an upgrade for Robert-Charrue, who was passed over for the top job in favor of Rickenbacher. Should Julius Baer eventually split Switzerland out again, Swiss ultra-rich banker Andreas Feller would be tipped to take over.
Slimmer C-Suite
Rossi is part of a reduction of top management under Rickenbacher, who is abolishing a dual management system of bank and holding. He is taking nine bankers – including Robert-Charrue, Americas boss Beatriz Sanchez, and Asia head Jimmy Lee – into top management, from the 15 people previously harbored in the C-suite.
Unlike his colleague Rémy Bersier, the 49-year-old Rossi isn't at an age to retreat into a symbolic role as an adviser. Like his former boss Collardi, Rossi began his career at Credit Suisse, and defected to Julius Baer in 2006. All eyes will be on where Rossi, a well-liked banker who is president of his local golf club, lands next.
