Julius Baer Gruppe Namen (JBARF) Q2 2023 Earnings Call

Investor webinar replay

Replay transcript excerpt

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. A warm welcome to all of you from the Julius Baer offices in Zurich, from where we present our results for the first half of 2023. I trust you can see our presentation on your screens. And for all our participants who dialed in over the phone, you will have the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the presentation. I am, as always, joined by our CFO, Evi Kostakis. Good morning, Evi. A warm welcome to you. In the first half of 2023, Julius Baer has again delivered a solid performance, positioning us well for future growth. This was achieved in a challenging environment for both us and our clients. Earlier this year, we all bore witness to notable events in the financial sector on both sides of the Atlantic, such as the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the US and, closer to home, the orchestrated takeover of Credit Suisse here in Switzerland. These events triggered uncertainty in financial markets as well as with clients. Geopolitical and economic challenges have remained in focus and continue to fuel investment concerns. To name a few, the tense relationship between the US and China, the Russian war in Ukraine that appears no closer to finding a solution, continuing fears over inflation and possible recessions are keeping market sentiment on the downside, a delay in global IPO markets reigniting and thereby failing to fuel wealth creation, and a general lack of volatility which is weighing on clients' propensity to trade. Against this backdrop, Julius Baer has again proven the strength and resilience of its business model, regardless of conditions. At the same time, the Swiss Financial Center has proven its strength and agility. I will come back to that later. EWI will provide greater details on our solid financial results a...