The Swiss private bank is the third to acquiesce and disperse a planned shareholder payout in two instalments. The move is in response to the crisis sparked by coronavirus.
Julius Baer is u-turning on its plan to pay 1.50 Swiss francs ($1.55) per share to investors this year, it said in a statement on Tuesday. The move is in response to a request from its regulator, Finma, to stow crisis capital and follows similar ones from UBS and Credit Suisse.
Specifically, Julius Baer will split and stagger its payments in May and – provided no «drastic change in circumstances» – in November. The bank said it is healthy enough to pay the dividend in its entirety, but is demurring to Finma. The payout is already accrued and has no effect on its capital.
Julius Baer is pushing back its shareholder meeting to May, which is when shareholders will receive 0.75 francs of the payout. The other half is to follow in November, pending an extraordinary shareholder meeting.
