Swiss private banking group Julius Baer has completed its acquisition of Commerzbank International S.A Luxembourg (Cisal), a fully-licensed private bank located in the Duchy.

Moving forward, the private bank will operate under the name Bank Julius Baer Luxembourg S.A., headed by Cisal’s former chief executive Falk Fischer.

Thomas Fehr, former branch and country manager of Luxembourg for Commerzbank, will become chief operating officer and a member of the executive board of the bank in Luxembourg.
Price tag

The total consideration of €78m, which includes €35m of regulatory capital transferred as part of the transaction, was paid in cash. Total restructuring and integration costs are estimated to amount to approximately €20m.

“The Luxembourg banking licence and Cisal’s T24 platform and expertise offer clear benefits for the group as a whole.”

The transaction significantly strengthens Julius Baer’s presence in Luxembourg, where the group is already active through its local entity Julius Baer Investment Services S.A R.L., and provides Julius Baer with a booking centre in this important European financial centre.
Platform bonus

An additional benefit of the transaction is Cisal’s banking platform, which runs on the same system as Julius Baer’s target platform. The acquired Temenos T24 platform and the related IT expertise will add relevant experience to Julius Baer’s currently ongoing worldwide platform renewal project.

At the same time, the newly acquired booking centre will present Julius Baer with further strategic flexibility for servicing its European clients.
Julius Baer expansion

Gian A. Rossi, member of the executive board of Bank Julius Baer and head northern, central and eastern Europe, said: “I very much look forward to welcoming the new clients and colleagues to Julius Baer. Cisal is a high-quality franchise, which will enable us to further expand our footprint in this important financial centre.

“Additionally, the Luxembourg banking licence and Cisal’s T24 platform and expertise offer clear benefits for the group as a whole.”

Fischer added: “My colleagues and I are excited to join Julius Baer. Thanks to the group’s position as the leading Swiss private bank with a global reach and the great cooperation with the colleagues of the existing local franchise in Luxembourg, I am convinced that our clients will benefit from the unique investment knowledge, exceptional client focus and the enhanced offering the combined businesses will be able to provide.”