Zuercher Kantonalbank’s profit increased in the first half due to its healthy interest and wealth management business. Assets under management reached almost 300 billion francs.
ZKB, the cantonal bank of the Zurich region, increased profit to 439 million Swiss francs ($445.6 million) in the first half of 2018, up 5 percent from the year-earlier period. Income from the interest-carrying business was also up 5 percent and reached 625 million.
Wealth management with private and institutional clients, the second main pillar of the bank’s business, also added 5 percent.
New Money From Institutional Clients
ZKB is Switzerland’s fourth-largest bank after UBS, Credit Suisse and Raiffeisen. It attracted 9.3 billion francs in new money in the first half of the year. The money mainly came from institutional clients.
The overall performance of security markets however negatively affected client assets. Taken together, ZKB at the end of the first half had assets under management worth 298.2 billion francs, putting the bank on course to breach the 300-billion-barrier in the second half.
Improved Cost-Income-Ratio
Chief Executive Martin Scholl said the first half result was strong and a good reflection of the satisfaction of clients. ZKB maintained a strict cost discipline and improved the cost-income-ratio to 58.4 percent.
Scholl expects a «pleasing result» in the second half, despite an unstable geopolitical environment and related uncertainty.
