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Responsible private banking groups can play a role helping to stabilise the world economy, according to the global Chief Executive of a group which recently made a landmark investment in Guernsey.
Philipp Rickenbacher, who leads Julius Baer and has been with the bank since 2004, was in Guernsey visiting the group's new state-of-the-art offices at Admiral Park.
Mr Rickenbacher, a Swiss citizen, pictured (top), said that private banks focusing on wealth management needed to be "responsible actors in this industry".
"We [Julius Baer] serve many households across the globe. If we provide sound advice to them, we’ll contribute to keeping the world stable, at a small scale," he said.
"We are a responsible actor in the world out there as a counterparty and a reliable counterparty to our other banking parties and correspondents across the globe.
"We believe in long-term strategies and not in short-term action. And we make ourselves part of the political dialogue."
Pictured: Julius Baer's global Chief Executive said the private banking group is stable and that responsible wealth managers could promote stability in the world economy.
Julius Baer, founded in 1890, is one of the oldest Swiss banking institutions. There has recently been speculation about the alleged instability of some of Europe's other prominent private banking groups. But Mr Rickenbacher said that Julius Baer is "rock solid".
"As a firm, we are built rock solid," he said. "Our ambition – it's getting confirmed again in these days – is to be built so that we can weather any kind of cycle and any kind of storm.
"Volatility on the revenue side, volatility on the markets side…these things will affect the result in one way or another, but they will not compromise the safety or the capitalisation of the bank."
Mr Rickenbacher cited several reasons for Julius Baer's strength in difficult economic conditions.
"It's the way we've built it – the mono focus of wealth management and the simplicity of our business model and being focused on serving private clients – a low-risk business.
"It allows us to bring all our management attention together on one topic. We're not distracted by retail or commercial banking or asset management or investment banking, as integrated players are. We can just focus on this business.
"Then I would say the conservative way we have parameterised our business in the past. We have de facto no credit losses over all these cycles, including at the beginning of the pandemic and at the beginning of this year. It's a strong testament to our controlled risk appetite. When we do lending, we do it funded through deposits, so we have a liability-driven balance sheet.
"These are all elements of strength in difficult times. And then I'd say the quality of the people in our network. We have almost 7,000 professionals in our network across the globe. Many of them have been with us for many, many years. That gives us stability and trust in the network."
Pictured: Julius Baer moved into the top three floors of No.1 The Plaza earlier this year.
Mr Rickenbacher said that Guernsey was "an integral part of Julius Baer", which has a physical presence in more than two dozen jurisdictions around the globe.
"I can say that we are very proud to have this new building here in Guernsey and to have our business here. It is commensurate with the role of the Guernsey business in our group," he said.
"It's fully part of our corporate identity and it's giving an excellent workspace to our people and…space for future expansion as growth is definitely one of the key themes for Julius Baer.
"I look at growth from a long-term perspective. Julius Baer is a growing firm in a growing market. Wealth management across the world is a growing discipline. We have decided to further grow, especially in our key hubs, and to add capacity and capability to staff in those places where we are already strong. Here in this sub-region, Guernsey is certainly part of that.
"We don't have to haste it. We can grow collectively and with quality. I think we can grow in line with the general question of development of economic growth here on the island. And I understand that from the political side there is willingness to enable growth of the companies here…and we’re very glad to be part of that.
"We're present in 25 countries. We like to understand where we can help locally. That's why…I was glad to see members of the government [the States] and also regulators. Local integration and the contribution to the local economy and to local society through acts like volunteering are very important to us."
Pictured: Julius Baer's new offices provide staff with some of the best facilities in the Channel Islands.
Julius Baer moved into its new premises at Admiral Park in February. It said it is "a modern workplace that enhances staff wellbeing".
It has breakout areas to encourage collaboration, self-contained pods for focused working and sit-stand desks for physical comfort. There is a state-of-the-art gym for staff to use and a staff hub which is light, modern and welcoming and which has quickly become a favourite space in the new office.
The bank said that its staff - who number around 150 in Guernsey - have responded positively to their new space and that it is proving "a slick, modern workplace that helps maintain wellbeing and a personal work-life balance".
Julius Baer in impressive new offices
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