ZURICH, July 23 (Reuters) - Julius Baer has

hired Goldman Sachs ( GS ) partner Stefan Bollinger as its new

chief executive, it said on Tuesday, as the Swiss private bank

seeks to move on from the Signa debacle which cost it millions

and dented its reputation.

The appointment ends a search for a successor to Philipp

Rickenbacher who was ousted in February after Julius Baer

suffered a massive loss on loans to the failed property firm

controlled by Austrian property magnate Rene Benko.

Bollinger, who is currently co-head of private wealth

management for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Goldman Sachs ( GS )

in London, will join Julius Baer no later than Feb. 1, 2025, the

Swiss bank said.

Romeo Lacher, chairman of Julius Baer, said Bollinger had an

excellent track record in global banking and wealth management,

and had played a major role in expanding the presence of Goldman

Sachs ( GS ) in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Under his leadership over the past five years, Goldman's

private wealth management business in Europe, Middle East and

Africa had more than doubled its assets under management.

"Stefan led and built outstanding businesses, most of them

at the intersection of wealth management and capital markets,"

Lacher said.

Lacher also emphasised Bollinger's "comprehensive

understanding of risk," a key consideration in the wake of the

Signa case.

Bollinger, a 50-year-old Swiss citizen, started his career

at Zuercher Kantonalbank. Before joining Goldman Sachs ( GS ) where he

had been a partner for 14 years, he also worked at J.P. Morgan.

"I am excited to be joining Julius Baer," he said.

Bank Vontobel analyst Andreas Venditti said the appointment

was a good one.

"Stefan Bollinger is qualified to lead JB and to help it

overcome any remaining Signa-related issues," said Venditti. "We

welcome his appointment and are looking forward to getting to

know him soon."

The new CEO will be charged with steering Julius Baer to

calmer waters after the Swiss institution dating back to 1890

was caught up in a string of damaging episodes.

In February, Julius Baer was forced to write down 586

million Swiss francs ($659.2 million) in losses on loans to

Signa, and said it would exit its private debt business.

The writedown cost Rickenbacher, who had been CEO since

2019, his job. In the last 12 months the bank, which manages 417

billion francs in assets, has seen its share price drop 8%.

Earlier this year the bank was reported to have held talks

with fellow private bank EFG International about a

potential takeover, that would have seen EFG's CEO Giorgio

Pradelli as a potential head of a combined entity.

Swiss regulatory concerns scuppered the talks over a

potential tie-up worth some 15 billion Swiss francs, Reuters

reported.

($1 = 0.8890 Swiss francs)