Bank Valiant earned more in the past financial year and also increased its income. (archive image)
Business success as a measure of the operating result rose by 11 percent to CHF 159.4 million in 2022 compared to the previous year. The bottom line was an increase in consolidated profit by 5.2 percent to 129.5 million. Shareholders are to receive a stable dividend of CHF 5 per share.
In the past year, the bank was also able to grow in all important business areas. Operating income increased by 4.1 percent to CHF 448.4 million. In particular, the strong interest business, the most important pillar of earnings, and the success in the trading business contributed to the successful annual result, Valiant announced on Wednesday.
Net interest income increased by 2.5 percent to CHF 335.5 million. Income from trading increased by 40 percent to 22.6 million. Revenue from FX swaps increased, it said.
The profit from the commission and service business swelled by 11 percent to 76.2 million. However, a change in booking practice in the payment card business has led to an extraordinary increase. Adjusted for this effect, the overall success was stable.
The commissions from the securities and investment business meanwhile recorded a minus of 2.8 percent due to the development on the stock exchange. However, Valiant attracted new customer assets of 783 million.
Loans to customers grew by 5.3 percent to 28.7 billion at the end of 2022. Valiant was particularly quick on the mortgage market, where the bank increased receivables by 5.6 percent. Customer deposits increased by 1.9 percent to 22.6 billion.
For the current financial year, Valiant expects consolidated profit to increase.
The implementation of the medium-term strategy is meanwhile going according to plan, and the expansion from Lake Geneva to Lake Constance can be completed earlier than originally planned, it said. Valiant originally wanted to open 14 additional branches between 2020 and 2024 and create 170 full-time positions, including 140 in customer service. Valiant said on Wednesday that the last branches of this strategy period would open their doors this year in Schaffhausen, Altstetten and Muttenz.
The program to increase profitability is also beginning to bear fruit. The bank wants to achieve cost reductions of CHF 12 to 15 million annually from 2024. In 2022, important milestones were reached in the savings and optimization measures: 23 branches were closed in the core area, among other things. 20 of the planned 50 full-time jobs were cut. The costs were reduced by 4.5 million Swiss francs. Valiant now operates a total of 84 branches.
(SDA)