Julius Baer chairman to leave as Signa reckoning widens

ZURICH (Reuters) -The chairman of Julius Baer, Romeo Lacher, is to step down, the Swiss bank said on Monday, as it continues a management shake-up that began a year ago after it suffered major losses from exposure to collapsed property group Signa.

In a statement, Baer said that Lacher would not stand for re-election at its annual general meeting on April 10 and that his proposed successor would be nominated in March. Lacher informed the board of his decision in 2024, the bank said.

The news of Lacher's departure comes after new CEO Stefan Bollinger began work at the Zurich-based wealth manager on Jan. 9, almost a year after it announced the departure of the previous chief executive, Philipp Rickenbacher.

Rickenbacher's exit occurred after the bank reported 586 million Swiss francs ($646 million) of losses on loans to Signa, the property firm of fallen Austrian tycoon Rene Benko.

Bringing the Lacher era to a close would cement the break with the past, analysts said.

"Lacher still belongs to the old guard, who are responsible for the strategic mistakes that ultimately led to the (Benko) fiasco," said Daniel Bosshard from Luzerner Kantonalbank.

"Julius Baer promised a fresh start after the Signa story and this is now the consequence," Bank Vontobel analyst Andreas Venditti said.

In a statement, Lacher said: "With Stefan Bollinger starting as CEO, Julius Baer is opening a new chapter. It is a good moment for this transition at board level."

"As the leading pure-play wealth manager worldwide, Julius Baer is strongly positioned for future success," he added.

Separately, the Swiss National Bank said Lacher would step down from the SNB's bank council on April 25.

($1 = 0.9070 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Paolo Laudani and Ariane Luthi. Editing by Dave Graham and Mark Potter)