Julius Baer to buy BofA assets

Swiss bank Julius Baer said it would pay $882 million to buy the overseas international wealth management business of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The division the Swiss bank is buying includes about $84 billion in managed assets, the bank said Monday. The assets Julius Baer is buying bumps its own asset pool by 40 percent, pushing it to $258 billion. "This acquisition brings us a major step forward in our growth strategy and will considerably strengthen [our] leading position in global private banking by adding substantial scale and additional offices primarily in growth markets, but also in Europe," the company said in a statement. The acquisition is subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals. If the deal is approved, Julius Baer would gain 2,000 employees, including more than 500 financial advisers, the statement said.