ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss private bank Julius Baer plans to cut between 660 and 880 jobs at Bank of America Merrill Lynch's overseas wealth management business as the integration of the newly acquired unit gets under way, a Swiss newspaper said on Sunday.
Der Sonntag said Julius Baer's Chief Executive Boris Collardi recently told an investor meeting that between 30 and 40 percent of the unit's 2,200 jobs will have to go.
A spokesman for Julius Baer declined to comment on the report.
The move is necessary so that Switzerland's biggest dedicated wealth manager can reduce its cost-income ratio as planned to 70 percent from 100 percent, the article said.
Julius Baer announced the acquisition of the Merrill Lynch unit in August as it seeks to expand in fast-growing emerging markets, but investors balked at the total cost, estimated at 1.47 billion Swiss francs ($1.58 billion), sending its shares sharply lower.
According to Der Sonntag, Baer faces substantial overlaps in Singapore, Hong Kong, the City of London and in Switzerland.
(Reporting by Andrew Thompson, Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
