By John Revell
ZURICH (Reuters) – Julius Baer said on Tuesday it had appointed Goldman Sachs partner Stefan Bollinger as its new chief executive, as the Swiss private bank looks to move on from the Signa debacle that cost it millions of dollars and damaged its reputation.
The appointment ends the search for a successor to Philipp Rickenbacher, who was ousted in February after Julius Baer suffered a huge loss due to loans it took out to a failed property company controlled by Austrian real estate tycoon René Benko.
Bollinger, who is currently co-head of private wealth management for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Goldman Sachs in London, will join Julius Baer no later than February 1, 2025, the Swiss bank said.
Romeo Lacher, Chairman of Julius Baer, said Bollinger has an excellent track record in global banking and wealth management and has played a key role in expanding Goldman Sachs’ presence in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Under his leadership over the past five years, Goldman Sachs’ private wealth management business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa has more than doubled its assets under management.
“Stefan has led and built outstanding businesses, most of them at the intersection of wealth management and capital markets,” said Lacher.
Lacher also emphasized Bollinger’s “comprehensive understanding of risk,” a key consideration in the wake of the Cigna case.
Bollinger, a 50-year-old Swiss national, began his career at Zuercher Kantonalbank. Before joining Goldman Sachs, where he was a partner for 14 years, he also worked at JP Morgan.
“I am excited to join Julius Baer,” he said.
Andreas Venditti, an analyst at Bank Vontobel, said the appointment was good.
“Stéphane Bollinger is well-positioned to lead JB and help it overcome any remaining issues related to Signa,” said Venditti. “We welcome his appointment and look forward to getting to know him soon.”
The new CEO will be tasked with steering Julius Baer into calmer waters after the Swiss institution, which dates back to 1890, fell into a series of devastating episodes.
In February, Julius Baer was forced to write off 586 million Swiss francs ($659.2 million) in losses on loans to Signa and said it would exit its private debt business.
The writedown cost Rickenbacker, who had been CEO since 2019, his job. The bank, which manages assets worth 417 billion francs, has seen its share price fall 8% in the past 12 months.
Earlier this year, the bank was reported to have held talks with fellow private bank EFG International over a potential acquisition, which would have seen EFG CEO Giorgio Pradelli appointed as potential chairman of the combined entity.
Swiss regulatory concerns have scuppered talks over a potential merger worth around 15 billion Swiss francs, Reuters reported.
(1 USD = 0.8890 CHF)