Switzerland based private bank Julius Baer has revealed its plan to axe 660 to 880 jobs at Bank of America's Merrill Lynch international wealth management business.
As the integration process of Merrill Lynch’s international wealth management business with Julius Baer begins, reducing the jobs by 30-40% will enable the Swiss asset manager to trim down its cost-income ratio to 70% from 100%, as reported by the Swiss newspaper Der Sonntag.
Its overseas unit employs around 2200 people, the bank said.
In mid-August last year, Julius Baer agreed to acquire Merrill Lynch’s international wealth management unit outside the US from Bank of America at a purchase price of nearly CHF1.47bn ($1.58bn).
The bank expects the acquisition to boost its private banking position in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East as well as in Europe.
Bank of America bought Merrill Lynch’s international wealth management business outside the US as part of its purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co in 2009.
BofA has been offloading its non-core business units and corroding thousands of jobs, as part of its efforts to reduce costs and bolster capital.