ZURICH (Reuters) -Julius Baer has employed Goldman Sachs accomplice Stefan Bollinger to be its new chief govt, the Swiss non-public financial institution stated on Tuesday.

The appointment ends a seek for a successor to Philipp Rickenbacher who was ousted in February after Julius Baer suffered a large loss on loans to failed property agency Signa.

Bollinger, who’s presently co-head of personal wealth administration for Europe, Center East and Africa at Goldman Sachs in London, will be part of Julius Baer no later than Feb. 1, 2025, the Swiss financial institution stated.

Romeo Lacher, chairman of Julius Baer, stated Bollinger had a wonderful observe report in world banking and wealth administration, and had performed a serious function in increasing the presence of Goldman Sachs in Asia, Europe, the Center East and Africa.

Below his management over the previous 5 years, Goldman’s non-public wealth administration enterprise in Europe, Center East and Africa had greater than doubled its property beneath administration.

“Stefan led and constructed excellent companies, most of them on the intersection of wealth administration and capital markets,” Lacher stated.

“His expertise combines a complete understanding of threat, merchandise, and of ship worth to world wealth administration shoppers…,” Lacher stated.

Bollinger, a 50-year-old Swiss citizen, began his profession at Zuercher Kantonalbank. Earlier than becoming a member of Goldman Sachs the place he had been a accomplice for 14 years, he additionally labored at J.P. Morgan.

“I’m excited to be becoming a member of Julius Baer,” he stated.

The brand new CEO might be charged with steering Julius Baer to calmer waters after the Swiss establishment relationship again to 1890 was caught up in a string of damaging episodes.

In February, Julius Baer was pressured to write down down 586 million Swiss francs ($659.2 million) in losses on loans to Austrian property magnate Rene Benko’s Signa Group, and stated it will exit its non-public debt enterprise.

The writedown price the financial institution’s CEO since 2019, Philipp Rickenbacher, his job. Within the final 12 months the financial institution, which manages 417 billion francs in property, has seen its share value drop 8%.

Earlier this yr the financial institution was reported to have held talks with fellow non-public financial institution EFG Worldwide a couple of potential takeover, that might have seen EFG’s CEO Giorgio Pradelli as a possible head of a mixed entity.

Swiss regulatory issues scuppered the talks over a possible tie-up value some 15 billion Swiss francs, Reuters reported.

($1 = 0.8890 Swiss francs)