Julius Baer CEO: Buy Of Wealth Unit May Positively Affect US Tax Talks

Talks with U.S. authorities to settle allegations that Julius Baer Group AG (BAER.VX) helped Americans evade taxes won't be directly affected by the purchase of Merrill Lynch's wealth management business from Bank of America Corp. (BAC), but the Swiss bank's chief executive hopes that any impact would be positive.

"We have a very good collaboration with U.S. authorities on finding a settlement, but the goal is still finding a government to government solution," Boris Collardi said Monday, when detailing the purchase of Merrill Lynch's wealth management business based outside the U.S. from Bank of America for around $900 million.

The deal "for sure" won't have a negative effect on these talks, Collardi said. He added that he hopes it may even have a positive impact.

Julius Baer Group said earlier this year it expects to pay a fine as a result of a U.S. campaign to track down Americans with assets hidden overseas.

The Swiss government has been negotiating a settlement covering all Swiss banks that may have helped Americans evade taxes. But Bern and Washington have been wrangling over details such as the size of any fine and an agreement to hand over thousands of names of secret account holders. In the absence of an agreement, U.S. authorities have started to target individual banks, including Julius Baer.

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