Julius Bär Group, the Swiss private bank, posted a 95% fall in net profit to Sfr16m (€10.4m) for the first six months of the year after Sfr55m of restructuring costs related to its withdrawal from institutional brokerage.

Net profits fell to Sfr16m for the first half from Sfr118m for the same period in 2002. Last month, Julius Bär sold its institutional brokerage unit to Lightyear Capital, a US buy-out firm, for an undisclosed sum. The Swiss bank said that in order for Lightyear Capital to carry on the brokerage activities on a competitive basis, a restructuring would be required, involving one-time cost of about Sfr55m.