Julius Baer Group is planning to adjust its bonus system as part of an effort to attract more client money under interim chief executive Nic Dreckmann.

As part of the move, the bank will likely increase how much commission it pays to relationship managers for pulling in fresh assets, people familiar with the matter said. The modifications to the current system will likely involve tweaks rather than a fundamental overhaul, and they could be announced as soon as next week, the people said, asking not to be named discussing private information.

A spokesperson for Julius Baer declined to comment.

The new model would scale back a policy put in place by former chief executive Philipp Rickenbacher, who shifted away from asset growth to prioritising long-term profitability in the wake of a money-laundering scandal. Dreckmann took over last month after Rickenbacher stepped down following steep losses on loans made to the now-insolvent Austrian property and retail conglomerate Signa.

Julius Baer has been under pressure since late last year when it revealed it had run up about US$700 million in loans to Signa and its founder, Austrian tycoon Rene Benko. The Swiss lender ultimately wrote off almost the entire amount, resulting in a deep profit hit.

The bonus changes under discussion now are not related to Signa, the people said. Still, Signa will have an impact on pay as the losses on the loans hammered Julius Baer’s performance and its share price, leading to a 55 per cent reduction in the equity part of last year’s compensation for some senior managers, two of the people said. 

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The five members of Julius Baer’s executive board responsible for credit decisions won’t receive any variable pay for 2023, the bank said last month. It’s also exiting the business that was at the heart of the Benko relationship. 

Variable compensation for relationship managers, who focus on attracting clients but leave the actual management of the money to others, is a key lever that private banks such as Julius Baer have at their disposal to boost new business. While some wealth managers only pay discretionary bonuses, others tie them to metrics such as net new money or client profitability. BLOOMBERG