(Bloomberg) -- Julius Baer Group Ltd. is negotiating with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to allow Stefan Bollinger to take up his role as chief executive officer of the Swiss bank sooner than planned, people familiar with the matter said.
Bollinger, who is currently co-head of wealth management for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Goldman, was appointed CEO of Julius Baer earlier this week, but has approximately six months notice to serve. He will join “no later” than Feb 1, the bank said on Tuesday.
Julius Baer’s board is now leaning on Goldman Sachs to shorten the notice period, the people said, who asked not to be named discussing private talks. The Zurich-based wealth manager has been without a permanent chief executive since Philipp Rickenbacher stepped down in February in the wake of losses linked to the Signa real estate bankruptcy.
The fact that Bollinger’s lead time, though usual in the industry, would leave the bank about a year without a CEO is causing frustration within the firm, one of the people said. Analysts pointed to a leadership gap at the firm after the bank unveiled a 15% drop in profit for the first half on Thursday.
Julius Baer shares rose 0.7% after the report before erasing gains, trading at 47.25 Swiss francs ($53.466) at 1:27 p.m. in Zurich.
Julius Baer and Goldman Sachs declined to comment on the discussions.
Strategic Limbo
The wealth manager is closing the private debt business at the heart of the Signa losses, and is re-focusing on its core business handling the fortunes of the wealthy.
Yet no new growth initiatives have been unveiled, and the bank still has an investigation by regulator Finma hanging over it. Once Bollinger takes over, it is likely to take a number of months to get to grips with the organization before any major changes are made. Deputy CEO Nic Dreckmann is serving as interim chief.
Anke Reingen, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets in London wrote on Thursday that Baer is currently in “strategic limbo.”
(Updates with shares in fifth paragraph)
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