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Julius Baer Scales Up Mexican Wealth Ambitions

The Swiss private bank now holds a 70 per cent stake in the Mexican business, having initially partnered with the firm in 2015.
Julius Baer has
increased its stake in Mexican wealth management firm NSC
Asesores, taking a 30 per cent stake. This means that it now owns
70 per cent of the firm, having made its initial deal in 2015.
The move comes as a number of international private banks have
ramped up operations in central and South America
recently.
The Zurich-listed lender declined to disclose the cost of the
fresh acquisition.
NSC Asesores manages client assets of about $3.5 billion. The
transaction is immediately accretive to Julius Baer’s earnings
per share and will have a modest impact on the group’s capital
ratios, it said in a statement today.
The management team of NSC Asesores, under the leadership of
Claudio Núñez, chief executive, and Mariví Esteve de Murga,
deputy CEO, will remain in place.
“Mexico is the second largest economy in Latin America and
constitutes a core market in the region for Julius Baer. The
strategic partnership with NSC Asesores represents an excellent
opportunity to leverage Julius Baer’s broad offering. By raising
our participation to a majority stake, we will be able to
increase the level of cooperation for the benefit of both
companies’ clients,” Beatriz Sanchez, head of Latin America and
member of Julius Baer’s executive board, said.
While Latin American countries have had their share of financial
troubles in recent years, a situation accentuated by rising US
interest rates, a number of international wealth management
houses have expanded teams in the region. The head of JP Morgan’s
private bank in Mexico was recently quoted as saying that it is
expanding in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America. It wants to
boost its frontline headcount by 15 per cent. Earlier in
February, this publication reported that Credit Suisse added a
raft of senior figures to its international wealth management
business with a focus on the Latin American client
market.
Last September, a Mexican subsidiary of wealth structuring
solutions firm Lombard International agreed to acquire a life
insurance business from Principal Seguros, enabling the business
to drive growth in Mexican and Latin American high net worth
markets. Lombard International’s Mexican joint venture business
is called Akaan Lombard International.