The 150-job figure was cited from a Neue Zürcher Zeitung report, the details of which the bank declined to confirm.

It is understood that the job losses will be across the bank’s operations, not only those in Switzerland. Julius Baer has a roster of 3,500 staff globally.

Julius Baer had not responded to enquiries from WealthBriefing on the matter at the time of publication.

In its half-year results Julius Baer reported that operating income and client assets fell to SFr898 million (around $1.09 trillion) in the second quarter of 2011, down 2 per cent year-on-year. Operating income fell by 2 per cent, while average assets under management were broadly flat, translating into a gross margin of 105 basis points, some 2 bps lower than in the first half of 2010, but a 2 bps improvement from the level achieved in the second half of 2010.

While the bank may be looking to shed some jobs, it is also aggressively expanding in the Asia-Pacific region.

Julius Baer has been vocal in laying claim to Asia as its second home market and a significant milestone in its expansion in the region came at the end of 2010 when the bank was awarded a QFII licence by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Additionally, the Hong Kong operation was promoted into a full bank branch late in 2010 and the bank is set to open a Shanghai representative office within the year.