Zurich-based Bank Julius Baer has been unable to employ its excess capital to find a suitable acquisition candidate so is to raise its dividend and undertake a share buy back.

Raymond Baer, its chairman, told the bank’s annual meeting in Zurich that the bank has looked “intensively” for acquisitions to boost external growth.  But none of the many targets examined had met its criteria.

Baer will increase its dividend by 50 percent, equivalent to about one third of the bank’s net profit and launch a buy-back of up to 5 percent of the outstanding share...