Profit at Julius Baer in 2015 increased by a fifth, boosted by trading and dividend income. The final result however is negatively impaired by the provision taken for the settlement of the tax dispute with the U.S. authorities.
Excluding the provision for the U.S. settlement, profit rose 20 percent to 701 million francs in 2015, Julius Baer said in a statement today. Net trading income jumped by a third to 436 million francs, while net interest and dividend income increased 10 percent to 711 million. Analysts on average expected profit of 721 million francs in 2015.
U.S. Settlement Impending
As was known beforehand, the result of Julius Baer was impaired by the provision it took in expectation of the settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice. The Zurich-based private bank said that the DoJ had approved the deal, including the payment of $547.25 million, and it expected a public announcement of the agreement «shortly».
Julius Baer was one of the banks in Category I of the Swiss Bank Program initiated by the U.S. authorities. With the agreement, the bank will escape further criminal investigations in exchange for the payment of a fine plus the promise of continued cooperation as the U.S. is trying to recover unpaid taxes by its citizens.
Increased Dividend
Assets under management in 2015 increased 3 percent to 300 billion, despite a negative currency impact of 10 billion francs. This included 60 billion francs of assets attributable to clients and relationship managers of the former Merrill Lynch International Wealth Management business outside the U.S.
In recognition of the increase of underlying profit, Julius Baer proposes to increase the ordinary dividend by 10 percent to 1.10 francs a share.
