Julius Baer CEO expects M&A restrictions to be lifted next year, open to big acquisitions
[ZURICH] Julius Baer chief executive officer Phillipp Rickenbacher expects restrictions imposed by Switzerland's financial watchdog FINMA to be lifted next year, he told Swiss financial publication themarket.ch, adding Baer is open to big acquisitions.
Switzerland's financial markets watchdog FINMA in February prohibited Julius Baer from making large acquisitions after finding serious shortcomings in its past efforts to combat money laundering, appointing an auditor to review its measures to improve anti-money laundering compliance.
"The requirement will be reviewed next year and based on the measures we have taken, I am confident that we will be able to lift restrictions in 2021," Mr Rickenbacher said in the interview.
"Acquisitions have been one of our strengths in the past. They have made us the global bank that we are today, and acquisitions will continue to play a role in the future: We are open to big, transformational acquisitions."
FINMA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
REUTERS
GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Banking & Finance
Morgan Stanley Asia private equity unit to reorganise as CEO retires
US seeks 36 months’ jail for Binance founder Zhao
Keppel’s Q1 revenue down 6.3% to S$1.5 billion; legacy O&M assets a drag on net profit
JPMorgan talking with investors about two synthetic risk transfers
HSBC says growing Chinese wealth fuels client investments in US
Money laundering accused Su Baolin to plead guilty after being handed 3 more charges