St. Galler Kantonalbank is back on track: Net income rose almost 10 percent last year. The state-owned bank however wants to keep the dividend unchanged.
After taking the decision to exit its offshore business, St. Galler Kantonalbank was faced with declining volumes for two-and-a-half years. In 2016, the state-owned bank finally managed to turn the tide. Net new money amounted to 1.6 billion Swiss francs, an increase of 4.5 percent and loans increased 2.6 percent, the bank said in a statement today.
Net income increased almost 10 percent to 146 million Swiss francs last year as costs declined. The bank spent 246 million last year, 4.6 percent less than in 2015. Personnel costs declined 2 percent to 157.7 million.
Reluctant Investors
The decline in spending more the offset a slight drop in earnings to 448.5 million francs. Commission and fee income declined 7.2 percent to 101.8 million as customers remained reluctant to invest their cash, the bank said.
Net interest income rose 5.9 percent to 310.6 million francs, the bank's main source of income.
Unchanged Dividend
The supervisory board of St. Galler Kantonalbank proposes the payment of an unchanged dividend of 15 francs a share. Together with the taxes and the fee for the state guarantee, the canton of St. Gallen and its municipalities will receive a total of 71.8 million francs from the bank.
St. Galler Kantonalbank expects the business to be «solid» in 2017 and forecast net income in line with 2016.
