The Swiss private bank said the deal will be accretive to its capital, and subject to customary regulatory approvals. Julius Baer said its international Brazil business will not be affected by the transaction.

Julius Baer has agreed to sell its domestic Brazilian wealth management business to Banco BTG Pactual, for a sum of BRL615 million ($101.2 million).

The Brazil business had BRL61 billion of assets as of 30 November last year, Zurich-listed Julius Baer said in a statement yesterday. It focuses on HNW and UHNW clients in Brazil and has offices in São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, and Rio de Janeiro.

Julius Baer said that when the transaction is closed it will add about 30 basis points to its Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio. Julius Baer will continue to service Brazilian clients from other locations and, as such, the Brazil International business "remains unaffected," according to a statement. As far as its Latin American and Iberian operations are concerned, the bank has presences in Mexico, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, and Spain.

The transaction’s closure – subject to customary regulatory approvals – is expected in the first quarter of 2025.

“Following a thorough review of our domestic business in Brazil over the past 12 months, it was concluded that for the benefit of our clients it is important to preserve the multi-family office approach, while further enhancing investment capabilities and upgrading technology,” Carlos Recoder, head of Americas and Iberia, Julius Baer, said. “The acquisition of our domestic Brazilian franchise by BTG, a leading domestic financial institution, makes this possible and allows [us] to deliver a compelling and differentiated value proposition for our clients and employees.”

As reported in November, Julius Baer said its AuM stood at SFr480 billion ($527.7 billion) at the end of October, a rise of 12 per cent on the same 10-month period in 2023.

Stefan Bollinger is to take up the CEO slot tomorrow; the lender announced the appointment in July. Bollinger took the role vacated earlier in 2024 by the exit of Philipp Rickenbacher, following heavy losses sustained by the bank from loans to a conglomerate.