Profits at Julius Baer more than doubled during the first half of the year, providing early signs that the turnaround at Switzerland's second-largest bank is beginning to take hold. The Zurich-based lender reported net profits of SFr673mn ($830mn), a jump of 128 per cent on the same period a year earlier when it was hit by a large loan writedown and a divestment in Brazil.

Net new money — a closely watched metric for wealth managers — came in at SFr5.7bn, beating analyst estimates. Chief executive Stefan Bollinger, who joined from Goldman Sachs at the beginning of last year, is attempting to rebuild confidence following a string of governance failures and loan losses. Bollinger was recruited after the bank wrote down its full SFr606mn exposure to now-collapsed Austrian property group Signa.

Julius Baer remains subject to enforcement proceedings by Swiss regulator Finma over risk management failures, preventing it from resuming share buybacks. The turnaround plan has involved significant cost-cutting, including cutting hundreds of jobs and slimming down the executive board. Former HSBC chief Noel Quinn joined the board as chair last year.

Analyst Nicholas Herman at Citigroup said the lender continued to make steady progress toward its 2026-28 targets. However, KBW's Thomas Hallett cited interest income, hiring rates and the lack of an update on the Finma review as "less encouraging" areas. Julius Baer shares fell 4.5 per cent in early trading.