Bank Julius Baer
| Bank Julius Baer & Co. AG | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Country |
 Switzerland
|
| Seat | Zurich |
| legal form | Corporation |
| IID | 8515 |
| BIC | BAERCHZZXXX |
| founding | 1890 |
| Website | www.juliusbaer.ch |
| management | |
| Board of Directors | Romeo Lacher (President) |
| Corporate management |
Philipp Rickenbacher ( Chief Executive Officer ) |
| Julius Baer Group Ltd. | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Corporation |
| ISIN | CH0102484968 |
| founding | 1890 |
| Seat |
Zurich , Switzerland
|
| management | Romeo Lacher (Chairman of the Board of Directors ) Philipp Rickenbacher ( Chief Executive Officer ) |
| Number of employees | 6639 |
| Website | www.juliusbaer.com |
| As of December 31, 2019 | |
The Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd. is part of the Swiss banking group Julius Baer Group Ltd. , a private bank in Zurich . With client assets under management of CHF 426 billion at the end of 2018, it is one of the largest European asset managers . Julius Baer employs around 6,700 people, including almost 1,500 client advisors, and is present in 28 countries and at more than 60 locations. Thailand is one of the newest expansion regions. The largest shareholder in Julius Baer Group Ltd. is MFS Investment Management with around 10% of the voting rights.
Alignment
As a private bank, its portfolio of asset management , asset planning and asset financing services is aimed primarily at wealthy customers and intermediaries ( private banking ). It offers investment instruments in an open product platform and advisory services. More than half of the income comes from the commission and service business. In addition to its headquarters in Zurich, the bank operates branches in 14 national and 45 international metropolises, 10 of them in Germany and one in Austria.
history
On October 17, 1890, Ludwig Hirschhorn and Theodor Grob founded the joint venture Hirschhorn & Grob in Zurich, based at Bahnhofstrasse 85, which became active in the field of money exchange . When Theodor Grob left, Ludwig Hirschhorn joined forces with his brother-in-law Julius Bär and Joseph Michael Uhl; on December 26, 1896, they founded the Hirschhorn, Uhl & Bär partnership . After the death of Ludwig Hirschhorn, Julius Baer took over the assets and liabilities of the partnership on April 23, 1901 with his limited partnership Julius Baer & Co. , which was dissolved at the same time.
Since 1980, the bank gradually opened up to non-family investors, until in 2005 it changed from a listed stock corporation to a public company and since then has been a member of the Swiss Market Index . The share of the Bär family is less than 5% of the share capital. In terms of assets under management, Julius Baer is number four among Swiss banks after the two major Swiss banks and Pictet & Cie.
In September 2005, the bank acquired the formerly independent private bankers Ferrier, Lullin & Cie SA , Ehinger & Armand von Ernst AG , Banco di Lugano (which until 1990 was called Banco di Roma per la Svizzera ) for CHF 6.1 billion (around EUR 3.7 billion) company) and the asset management company GAM ( Global Asset Management ) from the major Swiss bank UBS , making it one of the largest independent asset management companies in Switzerland. The purchase price was paid with CHF 3.8 billion in cash and a share of 21.5% of the share assets in the private banking group. UBS announced that it would not manage this stake as a strategic investment, which suggests that after the lock-up period of 18 months, the major Swiss bank could gradually reduce its stake in favorable market constellations.
On April 14, 2011, Julius Baer announced that it had agreed with the German authorities on a one-off payment of 50 million euros (approx. 64.7 million Swiss francs). The investigations against Julius Baer and unknown employees regarding untaxed assets of persons subject to tax in Germany were thus closed. The investigations came about through voluntary disclosures by German customers and data purchased by and collected by German authorities.
In 2012, the bank acquired Merrill Lynch's asset management business outside of the US from Bank of America . Romeo Lacher was elected as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors in April 2019 and took over from Daniel Sauter. Bernhard Hodler replaced Boris Collardi as Chief Executive Officer in November 2017 and was replaced by Philipp Rickenbacher in September 2019.
Splitting up
In May 2009 Julius Baer Holding announced the split into two independent companies. The private banking business should remain with Julius Baer Group Ltd. , which in future should concentrate on advising and supporting private customers. The asset management business, which in addition to GAM also includes Artio Global Investors and Julius Baer Asset Management Europe, was to be brought into GAM Holding AG . This would concentrate on offering investment products (especially investment funds ), portfolio management services and alternative investments . The two companies have been listed on the stock exchange as independent companies since October 2009, with the approval of the shareholders and the supervisory authorities.
WikiLeaks
On January 17, 2011, the former bank employee Rudolf Elmer presented two data carriers to Julian Assange from the whistleblower internet platform WikiLeaks . The records are said to contain information on 2000 account holders and come from three financial institutions, including Bank Julius Baer. These are supposed to be alleged tax fraudsters. Julian Assange said the data would be reviewed and then published in full on WikiLeaks. At the beginning of 2008, Rudolf Elmer published documents with customer data from a branch of Bank Bär on the Cayman Islands , including forgeries, via WikiLeaks. As a result, in February 2008 the bank was able to persuade a US court to shut down the Wikileaks website. However, the judge later overturned the order. The bank withdrew the lawsuit in March 2008.
Another data theft in 2011
In 2012, a German IT technician was discovered who had sold around 2,700 data records from German customers of the bank to the German tax authorities between October and December 2011 . The criminal proceedings before the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona have been running since June 2013 . According to the public prosecutor's office, the IT technician was promised around 1.1 million euros by the German investigators; In February 2012 he received only 200,000 euros in Berlin due to outstanding tax debts.
Lawsuit for missing GDR millions
On August 21, 2014, the Berlin Federal Agency for Unification-Related Special Tasks (BvS), which acts as a trustee for the assets of the former GDR , filed a lawsuit against Julius Baer & Co.AG with the District Court of Zurich for compensation for missing GDR state assets amounting to the equivalent of 135 Million euros. This sum is said to have been transferred to the bank's accounts via the cover company Novum by the Austrian communist Rudolfine Steindling, who died in 2012 . Later Steindling is said to have withdrawn the money and stored it in bank safes, although the final whereabouts are still unknown.
Criminal proceedings for aiding and abetting tax evasion
Since November 2009, the Treasury Department ( Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation , IRS-CI) has been investigating Bank Julius Baer on suspicion of aiding and abetting tax evasion. The suspicion was borne out, among other things, by the documents published by WikiLeaks. Then the Department of tax offenses (headed Tax Division ) of the US Department of Justice a criminal proceedings against the Bank Julius Baer. In 2016, Bank Julius Baer reached an agreement with the US authorities on the suspension of prosecution ( Deferred Prosecution Agreement ). The bank accepted a fine of € 547 million for its aiding and abetting tax evasion. Between 1990 and 2009, the company had approximately $ 4.7 billion in US taxpayers' accounts in 2,589 undeclared accounts.
In Brazil, prosecutors came across Bank Julius Baer during an investigation against Eduardo Cunha , then President of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies , in the course of Operation Lava Jato . The bank is suspected of aiding and abetting tax evasion in connection with the Petrobras corruption affair .
Serious deficiencies in the fight against money laundering
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority published on February 20, 2020 that there were serious deficiencies in the prevention of money laundering at Bankhaus Bär. In the period from 2009 to the beginning of 2018, there was considerable misconduct in connection with the corruption cases involving the oil company PDVSA and the football association FIFA . Until "the orderly condition is restored, the bank is prohibited from undertaking large and complex company acquisitions," according to FINMA.
In June 2020, another investigation by the Financial Market Authority (Finma) "on suspicion of violation of the anti-money laundering provisions" was initiated. According to the allegations, the bank noticed irregularities in transactions by an Argentine customer but did not report them to the financial regulator.
Julius Baer Foundation
The focus of the Julius Baer Foundation lies in the areas of vocational training for disadvantaged young people , innovative recycling projects and dialogue between social groups from different socio-economic classes. The foundation, which was founded by Walter J. Bär in 1965 for charitable purposes in Switzerland, has also become more and more international as business has expanded. Art prizes are also awarded.
literature
- Ernst Bieri , Peter Holenstein , Karl Völk : 1890–1990 - A bank and its family - A family and its bank. Issued by Bank Julius Baer. Zurich 1990.
Web links
- Website of Julius Baer Group Ltd.
- Information about Bank Julius Baer on the website of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Individual evidence
- ↑ Entry of “Bank Julius Baer & Co. AG” in the commercial register of the Canton of Zurich
- ↑ a b Entry in the bank master of Swiss Interbank Clearing
- ^ Entry of "Julius Baer Group Ltd." in the commercial register of the Canton of Zurich
- ↑ https://www.juliusbaer.com/group/de/news-detailseite/item/generalammlung-der-julius-baer-gruppe-ag-13/
- ↑ Philipp Rickenbacher appointed as the new CEO of Julius Baer. Press release. In: Julius Baer. July 8, 2019, accessed October 11, 2019 .
- ↑ https://www.juliusbaer.com/index.php?eID=dumpFile&t=f&f=65163&token=dbdfe90adc03d9372718b856b6ae67a086ca9219
- ↑ Julius Baer: Provisions and write- offs cause problems . In: Handelszeitung. February 3, 2020, accessed February 24, 2020 .
- ↑ Julius Baer Business Review 1st half of 2019. In: Julius Baer. Julius Baer Group, accessed on January 31, 2020 .
- ↑ Julius Baer enters into a joint venture in Thailand. Retrieved April 29, 2019 .
- ↑ Julius Baer Annual Report. Retrieved April 29, 2019 .
- ↑ Julius Baer: Locations , Retrieved April 29, 2019
- ^ History , website of Bank Julius Baer. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
- ^ Financial dynasties (16): Julius Baer. From Heidelsheim to Zurich's Bahnhofstrasse. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . October 3, 2008. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
- ↑ Julius Baer recruited an entire team five years ago in: Berner Zeitung of July 5, 2016
- ↑ Julius Baer reaches an agreement in Germany in: Handelsblatt dated April 14, 2011
- ↑ Swiss private bank buys itself free from tax proceedings. in: Spiegel Online from April 14, 2011
- ↑ Julius Baer is drawn to the hot north of England in: Cash from September 2, 2018
- ↑ General Assembly of Julius Baer Group Ltd. in: Julius Baer on April 10, 2019
- ↑ Boris Collardi is stepping down as head of Julius Baer with immediate effect In: nzz.ch, November 27, 2017, accessed on November 27, 2017.
- ↑ Jeffrey Hochegger: Philipp Rickenbacher: With the Vespa to the top of Julius Baer. In: Finance and Economy. Accessed January 31, 2020 .
- ↑ Julius Baer splits private banking and AM business into independent listed companies. In: institutional money. May 20, 2009. Retrieved March 25, 2019 .
- ↑ Schweizer transfers bank details to Wikileaks in: Deutsche Welle from January 17, 2011.
- ↑ Swiss whistleblowers pillory the innocent , Tages-Anzeiger , January 13, 2011.
- ^ The clean man with the tricky dates , Tages-Anzeiger, January 17, 2011.
- ^ Complaint against Wikileaks withdrawn in: heise.de of March 6, 2008.
- ^ Julius Baer: 3 years in prison for IT specialists for data theft. In: moneycab. August 13, 2013, accessed October 16, 2015 .
- ^ Disappeared GDR state assets: Germany is suing the Swiss bank ( memento of August 21, 2014 in the web archive archive.today ), Tagesschau.de, August 21, 2014.
- ↑ Press release from the US Department of Justice: Criminal Charges Filed Against Bank Julius Baer of Switzerland , February 4, 2016.
- ↑ Julius Baer pays US $ 547 million , Tages-Anzeiger, February 5, 2016.
- ↑ Why Julius Baer gets off so cheaply. Handelsblatt, February 5, 2016, accessed on May 6, 2016 .
- ↑ Eduardo Cunha arrested . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of October 21, 2016, p. 4.
- ↑ Serious deficiencies in the fight against money laundering at Julius Baer. Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, February 20, 2020, accessed on March 10, 2020 .
- ↑ Newspaper report: Swiss supervision is apparently investigating at Bank Bär on suspicion of money laundering. Retrieved June 16, 2020 .
- ^ Julius Baer Foundation. In: Swissfoundations.ch. Retrieved January 28, 2020 .