Julius Baer has not held merger talks with rival Credit Suisse, the Zurich-based private bank’s CEO Boris Collardi told the weekly Schweiz am Sonntag (Switzerland on Sunday), Reuters reported.
“There have been no such talks, ” Collardi said in response to a question regarding a possible union.
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There have been persistent rumors in Switzerland about a coming link between Credit Suisse to Julius Baer. The latter has assets worth a little over $297 billion, and is the fourth-largest private bank in Switzerland.
Pictet & Cie (Geneva) is the largest, followed by Credit Suisse and UBSN.
But regardless of whether or not they’re merging with anyone, Baer’s shares have soared their highest level in 10 years.
According to Reuters, the Swiss private banking industry is in the midst of a transformative deal making period, in a struggling local learning to manage with regulatory changes.
Collardi said he did not see the value of a merger deal for Baer’s clients and employees.
Reuters noted that Credit Suisse enjoys one advantage: while Julius Baer is still plagued by a criminal investigation into its helping wealthy Americans evade taxes at home, Credit Suisse took care of the problem a year ago, pleading guilty to a U.S. criminal charge and forking over $2.5 billion.
