People Moves
Julius Baer Moves Dublin Headquarters
The move will put advisors closer to its clients.
Swiss banking giant Julius Baer has moved
its Dublin headquarters to new premises at 2 Hume Street, a few
yards from St Stephen’s Green in the city centre.
The new offices will give business owners, entrepreneurs and
other wealthy individuals based in Ireland more convenient access
to Julius Baer’s team of advisors, the firm said in a
statement.
While not driven explicitly by "Brexit", the move comes at a time
when financial institutions are preparing for the perceived
worst-case scenario of a "no-deal" Brexit in which the UK could
find itself outside the European Single Market, a situation in
which firms would have to set up EU subsidiaries to continue
tapping into the customs union. As a result of such a risk,
organisations are looking to expand their presence in Dublin and
Frankfurt as potential bases for their European headquarters.
According to the bank, the Irish economy is set to be the fastest
growing Eurozone economy for the fourth year in a row, with GDP
growth projections of up to five per cent in 2017.
"Julius Baer plans to be at the forefront of wealth management in
Ireland and our new central Dublin location underscores this,"
said David Durlacher, chief executive of Julius Baer
International. "We are well positioned to benefit from the
material influence Brexit will have on the Irish economy and at a
time when other private banks are restructuring or retrenching,
we are prepared to invest in our business for the benefit of
clients, present and future,” he said.
Julius Baer is looking to make a committment to the UK and Irish
markets, by expanding within the region. This
publication reported in August that Julius Baer is
opening offices in Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow, also creating a
small team in Belfast as part of a UK-wide drive. It is
understood that about 30 staff will be taken on.