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Swiss Private Bank Completes Transfer of Merrill Lynch’s IWM Business In India
The Swiss private banking group has transferred assets of over SFr6 billion in India, three years on from its purchase of Merrill Lynch’s international wealth management arm.
Julius Baer has completed the transfer of Merrill Lynch’s International Wealth Management business in India.
Back in August 2012, Zurich-headquartered Julius Baer acquired Merrill Lynch’s international wealth management business outside the US. Julius Baer said the volume of the asset transfer in India corresponds to more than SFr6 billion ($6.2 billion), bringing the overall client assets transferred as part of the transaction to the lower end of the target range of SFr57 billion to SFr72 billion.
The latest step means the IWM integration, which began in February 2013, is now formally complete following the successful transfer of all 18 local businesses across several regions.
“We are pleased that we have now completed the transfer of the IWM businesses in all locations globally and have positioned Julius Baer as the international reference in private banking, also in the global Indian community. The transaction represents a long-term investment into our future and marks another milestone in the expansion of our successful Asian franchise,” said Julius Baer's chief executive, Boris Collardi.
Collardi added that thanks to a cautious investment approach, recent financial market turbulence has had “no meaningful impact” on the group's Asian franchise.
“I would also like to thank Atul Singh and the existing team for their tremendous efforts and contributions to the integration. Atul Singh has most recently been CEO of the wealth management business of Bank of America in India, since joining Merrill Lynch in 2006, and will continue to run our India business as chief executive officer. Shitin Desai, a veteran banker with over 40 years of experience, will be appointed non-executive chairman,” said Julius Baer's region head, Asia-Pacific, Dr Thomas Meier.
Last month, Merrill Lynch announced it was refocusing on clients with at least $2.5 million in investable assets outside of the US.
