ZURICH: Swiss private bank Julius Baer reported record first-half profits on Monday, aided by strong currency trading following Britain’s surprise vote to leave the European Union. The result of Britain’s June 23 referendum caught many in the market off guard and triggered a rush of foreign exchange trading as the British pound fell sharply, helping Baer’s adjusted net profit rise to 402 million Swiss francs ($407 mln) for the first half of the year. This was ahead of analysts’ forecasts and was Baer’s best half-year result since the bank split from its asset management business in 2009. Asked about the wider implications from Brexit for the bank, Chief Executive Boris Collardi said Baer was still assessing the implications.