The chief executive of Julius Baer has said that it expects restrictions on M&A deals imposed by Swiss regulator Finma to be lifted next year.
The financial watchdog banned the private bank from making acquisitions after it found Julius Baer had fell “significantly short” in combating money laundering in its Latin America operation between 2009 and 2018.
The failures related to alleged cases of corruption linked to a state-owned oil firm, Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), and world football organisation Fifa, which resulted in enforcement proceedings by Finma.
Phillipp Rickenbacher, Julius Baer chief executive, told German-language Swiss financial publication themarket on 3 November: “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.
“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 has not issued a statement on these claims.
