Philipp Rickenbacher stepped down as CEO of Swiss private bank Julius Bär by mutual agreement after a loan deal went wrong.
Keystone / Ennio Leanza
Swiss private bank Julius Bär has denied being pressured into parting ways with CEO Philipp Rickenbacher after suffering huge losses from soured loans.
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“The Financial Market Supervisory Authority [FINMA] did not exert any pressure,” Chair Romeo Lacher told the Finanz und Wirtschaft newspaper.
There was also no pressure from individual shareholders, he added.
According to Lacher, Rickenbacher’s resignation was “a joint decision by him and the board of directors.” But Lacher’s resignation was also apparently up for debate. “The board of directors discussed it openly and examined all options,” he said.
On Thursday, Julius Baer not only wrote off the entire loan of CHF606 million to the Signa Group of the Austrian investor René Benko, but also announced that it would withdraw from the entire private debt business.
“Here too, no pressure was exerted by FINMA,” said Lacher. However, there was an intensive exchange with the regulator.
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CEO of Julius Bär steps down in wake of Signa losses
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Julius Bär has also said it will exit its private debt business after writing down all of its loans to the bankrupt Signa companies.
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Swiss private bank Julius Bär outlines shaky credit position of Austrian property entrepreneur René Benko and his struggling Signa holding company.
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