Despite its broader cost-cutting push, Julius Baer appears to be signaling an ongoing focus on digital assets with a key crypto hire.
Julius Baer, a Swiss wealth management business, is reducing expenses under the leadership of its new CEO, Stefan Bollinger. However, the bank appears to be maintaining an interest in digital assets by employing crypto specialist Michael Martin.
Martin has joined the bank as a client adviser in Zurich, with a focus on digital assets. With needs in the area of digital assets,” Martin stated in a statement that he will be providing advisory services to customers on LinkedIn.
“I look forward to supporting our clients — whether they value our deep experience and trust, seek best-in-class advisory, or aim to explore the exciting opportunities that digital assets present.”Michael Martin
For a considerable amount of time, Martin has been involved in the cryptocurrency industry. He began his career in 2014 at Kimura Capital, which is a company based in London that offers trade finance credit for commodities. A more recent position he held was at Amina Bank, which was originally known as Seba Bank.
There, he was responsible for serving institutional cryptocurrency customers. Evangelia Kostakis, the Chief Financial Officer of Amina Bank, is a member of the board of directors, and Julius Baer is reportedly a minority shareholder in the bank.
The hiring takes place at a time when Julius Baer is undergoing a program of restructuring. One of the goals of the project is to reduce expenses by around 120 million dollars annually, and it involves the elimination of jobs for relationship managers.
Reports indicate that Julius Baer’s reorganization will result in the elimination of approximately 400 roles within the workforce. Specifically, both Hong Kong and Singapore will eliminate team leader positions.
