Julius Bär Acquisition of BAML IWM to Incur Significant Tech Costs

Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) and Zurich-based private bank Julius Bär have announced the Swiss firm’s acquisition of BAML's International Wealth Management (IWM) business.

The overall costs of the complex transaction—major components of which include running the two firms’ technology platforms in parallel during the transfer process, as well as infrastructure enhancements and migration—are expected to reach CHF400 million ($411 million), before tax considerations. Bank of America is expected to assume CHF121 million ($124 million) of the restructuring and integration costs.

The deal for IWM, subject to regulatory and board approval, sees Julius Bär take over $85 billion in client assets by the fourth quarter of this year and significantly expand the private bank's presence both in Europe and emerging markets, with new offices located in Bahrain, the Netherlands, India, Ireland, Lebanon, Luxembourg and Panama, with three in Spain.