Dubai DET partners with Julius Baer to support global investors. The partners will create formal routes for affluent clients under the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33. Julius Baer (Middle East) has entered an agreement with Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) to help overseas investors, business owners and family offices set up or broaden their activities in the emirate. The partners seek to create more formal routes for family offices, entrepreneurs and ultra-high-net-worth individuals within the framework of the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33. Julius Baer head of Region Emerging Markets Rahul Malhotra said: "Dubai has earned its place as one of the world's leading hubs for wealth management, and that is a view Julius Baer has held, and acted on, for more than two decades. Its long-standing presence here gives Private Banker International a depth of market knowledge that allows Private Banker International to respond confidently to clients when they are assessing where to base their wealth, their businesses, and their families. "Our structural confidence in this market has not wavered, and this partnership with DET is a natural extension of the commitment Julius Baer has demonstrated here from the very beginning." The Julius Baer international network covers more than 25 countries and 60 locations. The bank reported assets under management of SFr547bn ($666.9bn) at the end of June 2026. DET said the alliance is intended to help global investors understand Dubai's economic direction, engage with its ecosystem, and assess it for wealth and enterprise expansion. Dubai Economic Development Corporation (DEDC), the economic development arm of DET, CEO Hadi Badri said: "Dubai's sustained growth as a global hub for wealth, and investment reflects visionary leadership, policy stability, and long-term economic planning. "Our partnership with Julius Baer strengthens our ability to convert strategic interest into structured establishment and investment outcomes." In the first half of 2026, Julius Baer's profit more than doubled on sustained money inflows, rebounding from prior-year losses linked to credit provisions and a Brazilian divestment. The Swiss wealth manager reported IFRS net profit of SFr673m for the six months to June, up 128% from SFr295m in the first half of 2025. Give your business an edge with its leading industry insights.

Zurich CEO says staff let go as regulator Finma imposes partial sales ban. Zurich Insurance Group AG let go of more than 12 employees amid enforcement proceedings by the Swiss regulator Finma, Chief Executive Officer Mario Greco said. The regulator also imposed a sales ban on some policies in Zurich's corporate life and pensions unit in Switzerland, Greco said in an interview Monday. The enforcement proceeding began after Swiss customers of the unit were sold policies - which are highly regulated - at lower prices than agreed upon with Finma, Greco said. "The regret is that we should have found it ourselves, which we didn't despite all the audits and checks that we do," Greco said. Remediation steps hadn't been followed, which led to the enforcement proceeding, he said. The unit within the Swiss business can for the time being now only serve existing customers, and it's unclear how long the probe will last. The unit generates annual profits of around 20 million Swiss francs ($24.4 million) a year, meaning the ban will have "no impact" on the group's bottom line, he said. A spokesperson for Finma declined to comment on the matter. The enforcement proceeding was first reported by Swiss newspaper Blick. Finma has taken a more assertive stance with firms under its watch since the collapse of Credit Suisse in 2023. Another major Swiss institution, Julius Baer Group Ltd., is currently being prevented from conducting share buybacks amid an ongoing investigation by Finma into risk-control lapses related to the Signa real estate bankruptcy. Zurich saw robust profitability in 2025, with net income up 17% in the year. The company has also been active in the takeover market, and is currently working on the integration of specialty insurer Beazley Plc after an $11 billion acquisition. As part of its supervisory role, Finma said it continuously monitors compliance by banks, insurers and other firms with financial market laws, and intervenes where it deems necessary. Enforcement proceedings are among a number of measures Finma can pursue to ensure that a license holder's compliance is restored. The regulator frequently keeps the proceedings confidential. Zurich shares fluctuated in Zurich on Monday, and were up 0.2% at 5:14 p.m. Zurich is set to report second-quarter earnings on Aug. 6. Photograph: Zurich Insurance Group CEO Mario Greco; photo credit: Betty Laura Zapata/Bloomberg Was this article valuable?

Julius Baer net profit doubles to new record in H1 2026. Editorial Staff 22 July 2026 Shares in the standalone private banking group have risen this year but a record half-year 2026 profit result wasn't enough to enthuse investors. The bank said it logged strong net new inflows, with "exceptional" client activity in the first quarter. Yesterday, Julius Baer reported a net profit on an IFRS basis of SFr673 million ($831 million), a record, for the first half of this year. That figure rose 128 per cent year-on-year, the Zurich-listed bank said. Shares fell 3.93 per cent, with investors appearing insufficiently impressed by the more-than-doubling of net profit. Since the start of 2026, shares have risen around 7.7 per cent, based on the share price at around 12:00 noon UK time on 21 July. Adjusted net profit matched the IFRS figure at SFr673 million (EPS: SFr3.27), up 32 per cent on an underlying SFr511 million (EPS: SFr2.49) in H1 2025. Assets under management rose 5 per cent over the year-to-date, reaching a record SFr547 billion. The bank said the gain was driven by positive market performance and foreign exchange effects, and net new money inflows of SFr5.7 billion. The bank's gross margin rose to 87 basis points, against an underlying first-half 2025 figure of 83 basis points, following "exceptionally high client activity" in the first quarter of this year. An improvement in Julius Baer's operating leverage was reflected in an adjusted cost/income ratio of 62.6 per cent, down from an underlying 62.8 per cent a year earlier. Julius Baer said its Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio - a standard measure of a bank's capital strength - stood at 18.5 per cent at the end of June, up from 17.4 per cent a year earlier, and significantly above minimum requirements. "Overall, we delivered a strong operating performance in the first half of 2026, reporting record net profit, driven by pronounced client activity, all-time high assets under management, sustained net new money inflows, and continued improvement in operating leverage," Stefan Bollinger, CEO of Julius Baer, said. Operating income Providing further detail, Julius Baer said IFRS operating income reached SFr2.276 billion, up 26 per cent on a year earlier. The improvement reflected higher net commission and fee income, rising net income from financial instruments measured at fair value through profit or loss (FVTPL), and an increase in net interest income. In addition, the comparable period last year was weighed down by two significant items: an M&A-related net impact of SFr99 million from the sale of Julius Baer Brazil and elevated net credit losses. (The bank has also tightened controls since suffering credit losses of SFr606 million, stemming from loans to a European conglomerate, Signa Group. As previously stated, Julius Baer is targeting gross efficiency improvements of SFr130 million by 2028. In H1 2026, costs-to-achieve related to the programme totalled SFr7 million, while net savings generated by the programme amounted to SFr11 million. Adjusted personnel costs rose by 4 per cent to SFr974 million, driven by a 1 per cent year-on-year rise in average headcount and higher incentive and performance-related compensation. As of 30 June 2026, Julius Baer employed 7,675 full-time equivalents (FTEs), representing a year-to-date net increase of 285 positions.