ZURICH—Julius Baer Group AG said Monday that the Swiss bank's
assets under management fell 2% in the first half of this year, as
a result of a sharply strengthened Swiss franc and related changes
in currency values.
Zurich-based Julius Baer said assets under management fell 7
billion Swiss francs ($7.3 billion) during the first six months of
2015, reaching 284 billion francs. The bank said 56 billion francs
of that total resulted from its purchase of Bank of America Corp.'s
Merrill Lynch wealth- management business outside of the U.S.,
which is ongoing.
Julius Baer had set a target of obtaining between 57 billion
francs and 72 billion francs in managed assets as a result of the
Merrill purchase, which was originally announced in 2012. Merrill
bankers and their clients have had the option to take their
business elsewhere. Julius Baer, which is focused on wealth
management, has also acquired the Swiss operations of Israel-based
Bank Leumi.
Adjusted net profit fell 62% to 109 million francs in the first
half, Julius Baer said. The bank cited the provision of $350
million that it made last month, to settle a long-standing U.S.
Justice Department probe of Julius Baer's alleged aiding of tax
evasion among American clients.
Write to John Letzing at john.letzing@wsj.com
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