Julius Baer Appoints Peter Burrill as Finance Chief

Julius Baer has appointed Peter Burrill as chief financial officer, adding a new senior figure to its executive board as the Swiss private bank continues to rebuild confidence after heavy losses linked to risky lending.

Burrill will take up the role on August 17, subject to final regulatory approval. He joins from Standard Chartered, where he most recently served as interim group CFO, and brings experience from previous roles at Deutsche Bank and KPMG. For Julius Baer, the appointment places a seasoned finance executive at the centre of a leadership reset that has followed one of the bank’s most difficult recent periods.

The change comes after Julius Baer said in April that it would replace CFO Evie Kostakis, continuing a broader management shake-up. The bank has been working to move beyond losses connected to collapsed Austrian property group Signa, an exposure that raised questions over risk controls, lending discipline and executive oversight.

Burrill’s arrival therefore carries significance beyond a standard C-suite appointment. The finance function will be central to restoring internal discipline, strengthening regulatory confidence and guiding the bank through a period in which capital management remains under close watch. Julius Baer is still subject to an enforcement assessment by Swiss regulator FINMA, which has also prevented the bank from announcing new share buybacks.

Chief executive Stefan Bollinger described Burrill as bringing deep financial and regulatory expertise, a skill set that appears closely aligned with the bank’s current priorities. The appointment gives Julius Baer a clearer finance leadership structure, but the bank’s recovery will still depend on the outcome of the FINMA process and its ability to show that recent governance failures have been properly addressed.