Head IT Governance and Risk
About the job
- Extensive experience in IT governance, technology risk, or IT control roles within banking, preferably private banking or wealth management.
- Strong understanding of Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) technology and operational risk expectations, industry frameworks including ISO 27001, ITIL, and COBIT, and cyber risk practices.
- Familiarity with technology regulatory frameworks and guidelines in Singapore (MAS) and Hong Kong (HKMA, SFC, etc.).
- Ability to engage auditors, regulators, and senior management on complex technology risk topics.
- Ability to operate at senior level, influence senior stakeholders, challenge constructively, and drive change across multiple IT domains.
- Provide first-line ownership of technology governance and risk for the private bank, ensuring IT services, projects, and operations are controlled, resilient, and aligned to business strategy, risk appetite, and MAS expectations.
- Lead the design, implementation, and ongoing enhancement of the bank’s IT governance and risk framework, including policies, standards, and procedures for IT operations, change, projects, outsourcing, and cloud.
- Oversee and challenge the effectiveness of first-line IT controls, including access management, change management, incident and problem management, vulnerability and patch management, end-user computing governance, and end-of-life technology; drive remediation where gaps are identified.
- Own and maintain the IT risk register; drive regular risk identification with IT service, platform, and project owners; ensure appropriate assessment, treatment plans, and timely closure of risk actions.
- Coordinate and execute key IT risk processes, including risk and control self-assessments, risk scenario analysis, key risk indicators and key performance indicators, and provide data-driven insights on technology and cyber risk exposure.
- Translate MAS and internal policy requirements, including technology risk management, cyber hygiene, outsourcing and third-party risk, and operational risk, into practical first-line controls and procedures; lead gap assessments and remediation programmes.
- Act as the primary IT interface with internal and external auditors for first-line topics; coordinate evidence, management responses, and sustainable closure of findings related to IT governance, risk, and security.
- Partner with Information Security, Non-Financial Risk, Compliance, and the Chief Operating Officer to ensure consistent risk treatment, clear responsibility-assignment matrices across the three lines, and robust governance for high-risk initiatives and changes.
- Chair or play a leading role in the Asia IT Risk Management Forum, ensuring effective escalation, challenge, and decision-making for material risks, incidents, and exceptions.
- Oversee IT risk and governance dashboards and reports for senior IT management and relevant risk committees, covering incidents, audit and regulatory issues, key risk indicators, and remediation status.
- Drive continuous improvement of IT processes and controls, promoting automation and simplification while maintaining a strong control environment.
- Lead or support training and awareness for IT staff on technology risk, security, and governance requirements, reinforcing first-line ownership and a strong risk culture.
- Report risks to the IT Risk Management Committee and to the Operational Risk Committees in Singapore and Hong Kong.
- Establish strong relationships with IT service owners, IT infrastructure, IT application managers, IT architecture and project managers, CRO functions, the Chief Operating Officer’s third-party risk management and business continuity functions, and global IT governance, IT risk management, and information security functions.
- Ensure ethical and compliant behaviour within the area of responsibility, including honesty and integrity, due care and diligence, fair dealing, management of conflicts of interest, competence and continuous development, adequate risk management, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
- Experience in private banking or wealth management is preferred.
About the company
Julius Baer Group Ltd. is a Swiss private bank that serves high-net-worth individuals and families. It focuses on wealth management, investment advisory, discretionary mandates, financing, and related private banking services. Customers’ assets are managed through personalized investment strategies, custody, and tailored financial planning delivered by relationship managers and specialists."
Company Size
5,001-10,000
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
Switzerland
Founded
1890
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- H1 2026 net profit rose 32% to CHF 673 million on strong client activity.
- Assets under management hit CHF 547 billion by June 2026, up 5% year-to-date.
- September 2026 FINMA relief enabled a CHF 600 million buyback request.
What critics are saying
- FINMA called Baer’s AML and risk failures serious on September 29, 2026.
- The bank must keep CHF 250 million extra capital until incompatible clients are divested.
- Repeated AML scandals trigger outflows and tighter licenses, breaking the private-banking model.
What makes Julius Baer unique
- Zurich headquarters and Asia booking centers anchor Julius Baer’s cross-border private banking franchise.
- Its 2026-2028 strategy builds nearshore operations in Spain and India for scale.
- Long relationships with ultra-high-net-worth clients support fee income and sticky assets.
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Benefits
Flexible Work Hours
Company News
Julius Baer appoints former UBS top banker to the board. Julius Baer wants to strengthen its board of directors with two experienced female bankers. Caroline Kuhnert, a long-standing UBS executive with extensive private banking experience, is set to join the board. The former HSBC and RBS head of human resources, Elaine Arden, is also being nominated. Tuesday, 6 October 2026 08:19 Press play to listen to this content The Julius Baer Group is nominating Caroline Kuhnert and Elaine Arden for election to the board of directors at the annual general meeting in April 2027, the Zurich-based private bank announced in a statement on Tuesday. With Kuhnert, Julius Baer is bringing additional experience in international wealth management and Swiss private banking onto the board. 20 years at UBS Kuhnert worked in wealth management at UBS for around 20 years and most recently served on the Global Wealth Management Executive Committee in Zurich. Over the course of her career, she was responsible for various businesses in Switzerland and internationally. These included Europe, Switzerland, Emerging Europe, the UK, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia. She also led the EMEA region's business with ultra-high-net-worth clients and global family offices. Other focus areas of her work included cross-border risk management and restructurings. The Austrian-born executive also holds Swiss citizenship and lives in Switzerland. Transformation at HSBC and RBS Arden, by contrast, brings above all experience in human resources, corporate culture and the transformation of large banks. Among other roles, she was Director of Group Human Resources at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). There, she was involved in repositioning and downsizing an international banking group that at the time had around 120,000 employees in 30 countries. She later moved to HSBC, where she accompanied the group's organisational and strategic transformation with around 220,000 employees in 64 countries and led one of the bank's major global HR organisations. She retired last year. Board continues to be reshaped Board Chairman Noel Quinn had already announced in March that he would strengthen the board with additional expertise while also advancing diversity targets. Kuhnert is expected to contribute expertise in private banking and the Swiss market, while Arden will complement the board with her experience in large-scale transformations, compensation matters, and talent and succession planning. Julius Baer plans to announce the exact composition of the board and its committees after the planned elections in March 2027, together with the notice convening the annual general meeting.
Swiss probe into Julius Baer ends with findings of "serious" AML violations. The regulator consolidated two proceedings, as both involved lapses in the bank's risk management as well as culture. Swiss financial watchdog FINMA has concluded an enforcement action against Julius Baer, determining the bank committed "serious" breaches of regulatory provisions concerning money-laundering prevention and risk governance. This marks FINMA's fifth enforcement action against the bank in under a decade. It saw the regulator consolidating two distinct proceedings, as both involved lapses in the bank's risk management as well as culture. The first inquiry examined eight private debt facilities granted to a European corporate group and its founder from September 2019, which grew to surpass SFr1bn ($1.19bn) during 2022 and 2023. Following earlier identified "weaknesses", FINMA determined that the institution was "not properly equipped for these loans" due to deficient internal rules, insufficient staff training, and absent control structures, even whilst staff and intermediaries collected millions in remuneration and commissions. The second case uncovered "serious breaches" of anti-money laundering duties, after the bank spent several years failing to verify asset origins for high-risk accounts connected to two Russian politically exposed persons (PEPs). To address the findings, the bank closed its private debt division, curtailed lending, restructured its pay schemes, as well as appointed new personnel to its board of directors and executive board. It also revised its risk criteria to offload non-compliant client assets over coming years. Under the ruling, the bank must provide progress reports on its compliance and risk culture to FINMA until 2032. A provisional ban on onboarding PEP clients from high-risk territories will be lifted incrementally as unsuitable assets are divested. Until that process finishes, Julius Bär must maintain SFr250m in supplemental capital, creating an effective minimum CET1 ratio of 9.4%, reduced from an earlier requirement of SFr500m. Julius Baer said it "acknowledges" the findings, noting remedial steps have been implemented "proactively" alongside FINMA whilst the firm proceeds with its 2026-2028 strategic targets and revised risk framework. Give your business an edge with its leading industry insights.
Julius Baer strengthens Middle East & Africa leadership in Dubai with the appointment of Roy Zaatar. Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd. (JBME) has appointed Roy Zaatar as Managing Director Senior Advisor and Group Head, joining the leadership team of Middle East & Africa in Dubai as of 16 September 2026. In his role, he will be leading a group of relationship managers covering the region. He will report to Regis Burger, Head of Middle East & Africa at Julius Baer. Roy brings close to two decades of work experience and deep expertise in shaping high-performing teams, combining an entrepreneurial mindset with a strong appreciation for risk discipline. Roy spent the last 11 years with Barclays in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), where he most recently served as Team Leader and Market Head for Arab Diaspora & Global India. Earlier in his career, he also held positions at Credit Agricole (Suisse) SA. Regis Burger, Head of Middle East & Africa at Julius Baer said 'We are thrilled to welcome Roy to our leadership team in Dubai as we continue to grow and expand. Roy brings an exceptional, established client network across the Middle East, alongside deep market expertise and a proven strategic mindset that will be instrumental as we deepen our regional footprint and deliver the full breadth of our wealth management capabilities to clients.' JBME has been present in the DIFC since its inception, holding licence number 1 as the first firm to be authorised by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). Over more than two decades, Julius Baer in Dubai has grown into one of the largest and most established international wealth managers in the DIFC, serving ultra-high net worth and high net worth clients across the region. Roy's appointment builds on that long-standing presence and reflects the organisation's continued investment in its Middle East & Africa leadership.
Julius Baer seriously breached risk and money laundering rules, Swiss regulator says. Posted on September 29, 2026 · Last updated: September 29, 2026 Swiss regulator FINMA: Julius Baer violated money laundering and risk rules. FINMA investigation and findings. Overview of FINMA's enforcement. ZURICH, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Swiss private bank Julius Baer committed serious violations of supervisory provisions related to risk management and anti-money laundering obligations, financial regulator FINMA said on Tuesday, after concluding its investigation. Scope of the inquiry. The inquiry was related to private debt loans to a European group and client relationships tied to two Russians who were described as politically exposed. History of regulatory actions. It was the fifth enforcement proceeding carried out by FINMA against Julius Baer in less than 10 years, the authority said. Details of violations. Deficient risk and compliance culture. "There were significant breaches which revealed a deficient internal risk and compliance culture within the bank," added the authority, which ordered Julius Baer to hold additional capital of 250 million Swiss francs ($300 million) until it completes a planned divestment of incompatible clients. Private debt loans to European group. From September 2019, Julius Baer granted loans in its new private debt business to a European group and its founder, with the exposure eventually exceeding 1 billion Swiss francs. Ignored warning signs and risk limits. The bank ignored numerous warning signs, breached its own risk limits and facilitated opaque transactions that meant the exposure of 586 million francs outstanding at the end of 2023 ultimately had to be written down in full, FINMA said. Anti-Money laundering failures. Separately, the bank failed to adequately scrutinize the origin of assets for high-risk clients linked to two Russian politically exposed persons (PEPs) over several years, breaching anti-money laundering reporting obligations, FINMA said. Additional information. ($1 = 0.8333 Swiss francs) (Reporting by John Revill, Editing by Miranda Murray) Key takeaways. * FINMA identified major deficiencies in Julius Baer's risk-management, private-debt lending and AML controls, noting full write-down of CHF 586 million exposure (juliusbaer.com) * This is FINMA's fifth enforcement action against Julius Baer in under a decade, underlining recurring compliance issues (finma.ch) * The regulator imposed an additional CHF 250 million capital buffer until the bank divests incompatible clients, signaling serious supervisory concern (juliusbaer.com) References. Frequently asked questions. What rules did Julius Baer allegedly breach? Who conducted the investigation into Julius Baer? What penalties did Julius Baer face? Why was scrutiny applied to Julius Baer's Russian clients? How many FINMA enforcement actions has Julius Baer faced in the past decade?
Bank of Singapore appoints ASEAN market group head. Editorial Staff 29 September 2026 The newly-appointed figure brings expertise in client advisory for the ultra-high net worth and HNW segments in Asia, as well as investment solutions in multiple asset classes. A former Julius Baer senior banker, Aline Pacheco (pictured below), is joining Bank of Singapore as market group head for the ASEAN region of jurisdictions. Aline Pacheco Pacheco, who will be joining the bank on 12 Octobe, will also lead coverage for the Philippines, which will entail driving a coordinated market strategy and business plan. Based in Singapore, she will report to Vi Sun Yang, head of private banking, ASEAN. At her previous firm, Pacheco was group head, Southeast Asia at Julius Baer, leading a team of 30 relationship managers and assistant relationship managers. Before that, she held senior leadership positions at UBS, including market team head for the Philippines, head of equities for APAC, and head of direct access for client advisory in the APAC region. Her appointment follows the appointment of Vi Sun Yang as head of private banking, ASEAN at the end of June. In other hires, Bank of Singapore appointed Cecil Yeo, market group head for ASEAN, effective 7 December 2026, to lead coverage for Thailand. "Aline is a highly respected private banker with extensive experience across ASEAN, especially in the Philippines. She has a strong track record of serving ultra-high net worth and high net worth clients, and a proven ability to build and grow successful teams. These are invaluable as we make a strong push to accelerate growth in our ASEAN franchise," Vi Sun Yang said. WealthBriefingAsia has asked BoS if the appointment is a newly-formed role and will update this article in due course.