Boris Collardi became CEO of Julius Baer in 2009 at age 35, making him the youngest CEO in the bank's history. In 2013, he led Julius Baer's acquisition of Bank of America's Merrill Lynch private banking business outside of the US and Japan for $880 million. This strategic purchase will increase Julius Baer's total assets under management by 40% once integration is complete in mid-2014. It will also significantly boost Julius Baer's presence in Asia, where Merrill Lynch has more assets than Julius Baer and the addition of its Indian business could double Julius Baer's Asian assets and make it one of the top five private banks in Asia. Collardi views organic growth as the primary strategy going forward rather

1. By ANITA GABRIEL
SENIOR CORRESPONDENT
WHEN Mr Boris Collardi swooped
into the top executive seat in Swit-
zerland’s second largest private
bank Julius Baer in 2009, he made
big news in European business
newspapers.
At 35 then, he became the
youngest chief in the Swiss bank’s
120-year history. And, unlike
most of his peers in the brutally
fast-paced and competitive bank-
ing space, armed with resumes
laced with top university degrees,
he had none.
Instead, he spent 13 years sink-
ing his teeth in the banking sector
through Credit Suisse – three of
those spent in Singapore – and
climbing the ranks before he
joined Julius Baer in 2006 as chief
operating officer.
But the man described as one
of the rising stars under the age of
40 in Europe’s wealth manage-
ment realm was quick to supplant
those headlines with another not
too long after.
This one had more to do with
strategic prowess.
Last August, under Mr Collar-
di’s charge, Julius Baer scooped
up Bank of America’s Merrill
Lynch private banking business
outside the United States and Ja-
pan for US$880 million (S$1.09
billion).
There’s a visible glint of excite-
ment in Mr Collardi’s face when
he talks about the deal which
closed just about a month ago.
There’s good reason for that
too. Once the business transfer
and integration is done sometime
mid next year, it will bump up Ju-
lius Baer’s total assets under man-
agement by a whopping 40 per
cent.
The motivation for the acquisi-
tion is clear: private banking is
fast becoming a crowded space
and snagging fresh client funds
through the buyout would allow
Julius Baer to better compete with
bigger rivals UBS and Credit Su-
isse.
Sweetening the deal further is
the Asian growth promise, a
much-vaunted space for private
bankers these days, given its grow-
ing affluence and the rising
number of millionaires here.
Asia is the single largest region
outside of Europe for the bank
and it constitutes some 10 per
cent to 15 per cent of its total as-
set base which last year grew 11
per cent to a record high of 189 bil-
lion Swiss francs (S$248 billion).
That’s not bad for the Swiss
bank which kicked off its Asian
business only in 2006.
The 2008 global financial crisis
which hurt the public’s trust in
big banks or “black boxes” that
concealed huge risks, proved to be
opportunistic for Julius Baer,
which considers that its pure pri-
vate banking status gives it an
edge above the rest.
“We came in during a period
when a lot of high net worth indi-
viduals were disappointed with
the large banks. That created a
space for a new entrant like us.
We profited from it,” he adds.
“We are an untainted pure pri-
vate bank. We are different in the
way we front the client – we
don’t sell our own products but
source them from the market. We
do only one thing which provides
clarity in our positioning and that
has given us tremendous momen-
tum,” he says.
With the Merrill Lynch deal,
Asia’s share of the bank’s total as-
set base will jump to between 20
and 25 per cent.
“Merrill Lynch is slightly larger
today in terms of assets in Asia
than us,” says Mr Collardi.
If Merrill’s Indian onshore busi-
ness – an altogether new market
for Julius Baer – is tossed into the
mix, it would double the private
bank’s assets in Asia, which
would in turn make it one of the
top five private banks in Asia.
“That would make us by far the
largest independent private bank
in Asia,” he adds, with that glint
returning to his facial expression.
Without a doubt, Singapore is
the pulse of Julius Baer’s Asian op-
erations with Hong Kong a distant
second.
In terms of all key benchmarks
– asset base, head count and scale
of operations – Singapore hogs
top spot in the bank’s regional op-
erations. Julius Baer’s Singapore
office is the largest outside Zu-
rich, the bank’s headquarters.
That’s unlikely to change post
integration even if it boosts Julius
Baer’s presence in some new mar-
kets in the region.
“Singapore will retain that
standing as our platform centre in
the region, particular South-east
Asia while Hong Kong will be our
strong centre for North Asia,” he
says.
The acquisition will push the
bank’s headcount in Asia from
500 now to 1,000. Group-wide,
the acquisition will bump up its
staff strength from 3,700 to
5,700.
So, layoffs may be inevitable.
“Next year, based on our busi-
ness, projected growth and budg-
et over the next three years, we’ll
decide what is the number of em-
ployees we need and what to do
with the excess capacity,” says
Mr Collardi.
The bank had earlier indicated
it may cut 1,000 jobs. “It’s more
difficult to find a job in Switzer-
land today than in Asia. Sure,
there’ll be layoffs but the market
here in Asia has a greater capacity
to absorb people,” he adds.
The bank plans to revert to an
organic growth strategy once the
integration is completed.
Will it consider any more new
acquisitions if there are more dis-
posals triggered by a patchy mar-
ket environment?
“The toughest thing for us is to
say ‘no’ nine out of 10 times to ac-
quisitions. We are a natural con-
solidator in the market.”
“My self discipline is – unless
it’s something really extraordi-
nary, our answer should be ‘no’.”
In other words, organic growth
and not filling up the shopping
cart, is likely to be the centrepiece
of this Swiss bank’s strategy over
the next 18 months.
anitag@sph.com.sg
Mr Boris Collardi, who joined Julius Baer as chief operating officer in 2006 and became its CEO three years later, is
described as one of the rising stars under the age of 40 in Europe’s wealth management realm. PHOTO: JULIUS BAER
A PURE PRIVATE BANK
We are an untainted pure private bank. We are
different in the way we front the client – we
don’t sell our own products but source them
from the market. We do only one thing which
provides clarity in our positioning and that has
given us tremendous momentum.
– Julius Baer CEO Boris Collardi
$1-billion Merrill Lynch deal will
boost its total assets by 40 per cent
TALKING TO JULIUS BAER CEO BORIS COLLARDI
Strategic buyout
expands Swiss
bank’s Asia profile
B10 MMOONNEEYY M O N D A Y , M A R C H 1 1 , 2 0 1 3