The legal merger of Geneva-based Merrill Lynch Bank (Suisse) and its branches in Zurich and Dubai into Bank Julius Baer has been completed as planned on 31 May 2013.
Following the integration, Merill Lynch Bank’s (Suisse) business in these regions will operate under the Julius Baer brand going forward.
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As a Swiss bank entity, Merrill Lynch Bank (Suisse) had its own international client base and assets under management of CHF11 billion.
After Julius Baer acquired Merrill Lynch’s International Wealth Management (IWM) business outside the US on 1 February 2013, Merrill Lynch Bank (Suisse) was the first business to be transferred to the Julius Baer Group.
Rémy A. Bersier, member of the executive board of Bank Julius Baer, said: "With MLBS joining Julius Baer, the Geneva hub will gain even more importance going forward. Julius Baer already had a strong presence in French-speaking Switzerland but as a result of the integration of MLBS, Geneva’s position as a center of competence will be further strengthened."
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By GlobalDataThe takeover
In August 2012, Julius Baer won the bid to buy Merrill Lynch’s IWM business, with client assets worth US$84 billion, from Bank of America (BofA). After the acquisition was announced, Julius Baer raised US$492 million to fund the deal on 18 October 2012, before enlisting former Merrill Lynch senior executives to support the integration of the IWM in January 2013.
In April 2013, Julius Baer transferred more legal entities in four locations across Latin America, keeping the integration process on schedule.
Integration on track
On 28 May, in line with its original integration plans, Julius Baer begun the transfer of Merrill Lynch’s IWM business in Hong Kong and Singapore.
The last step of the integration of Merill Lynch Bank (Suisse) into Bank Julius Baer will be the technical merger, which is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2014, post which the current IT platform of Merill Lynch Bank (Suisse) will be integrated into Julius Baer’s core banking platform.
The next businesses to be transferred are in the UK, Spain and Israel, which are expected to occur over the upcoming months. The preparations for these transfers are well under way, according to Julius Baer.
