The former Julius Baer CEO and Pictet shareholder will now become an investor and director of EFG International. This bond could definitely last a little longer.
Both Collardi and the EFG have overcome difficulties.
Boris Collardi is back on the Swiss banking scene. The former Julius Baer boss and Pictet shareholder will take a 3.6 percent stake in private bank EFG International and is set to join the bank’s board of directors. He buys his block of shares from the main owner Spiro Latsis for around 80 million francs.
Seen from the outside, this “marriage” between Collardi and the EFG fits in well. Firstly, this is considered a bank that demands a great deal of personal initiative from its customer advisors. This setup could suit Collardi, who was and is considered a banker with numerous ideas. The only question could be how active he is in his position as a member of the Board of Directors. In any case, he no longer seems to be looking for an executive role.
Second, both the EFG and Collardi themselves have overcome difficulties. After 2017, Collardi had put a lot on the Pictet card before the sudden break came. Partners in the Geneva bank typically serve in their roles for decades, not a few years. The break raised the question of whether Collardi wants to and will appear again in the Swiss financial center. Previously, he had been involved in an investigation by the Financial Markets Authority into his role as CEO in Julius Baer’s money laundering scandals. The investigation was concluded with a reprimand, so there is nothing standing in the way of Collardi’s further work in the financial center.
EFG, in turn, was busy for several years with the takeover of the similarly large, badly hit competitor BSI. Bringing the BSI bankers into your own corporate culture was difficult; the inward-looking EFG delivered meager numbers for years. This gradually changed from 2020 at the latest. The private bank got a better grip on its costs and switched back to growth mode.
Perhaps thanks to Collardi, the EFG will build even more momentum. Both sides are likely to have learned from experience that such momentum in banking can quickly dry up again. But adding a dose of realism to the third marriage is usually for the good of both spouses.