Vontobel raised its wealth management profit targets after tacking on client funds and growth with the acquisition of private bank Notenstein La Roche. CEO Zeno Staub however urged caution for the rest of the year.
The Zurich-based bank has already lowered its cost-income-ratio from 75 percent to 70 percent, and raised the goal for the brutto margin from 65 basis points to 68 basis points, it said it the first-half earnings report. The target for the growth rate remains unchanged.
At the same time Vontobel lifted the overall profitability goals through 2020: the cost-income-ratio will fall to below 72 percent (currently 75 percent) and the capital ratio will climb to more than 14 percent, from 12 percent. In the first half of the year the capital ratio stood at 15.1 percent.
«We want to deepen our existing customer relations and gain new ones. Given the global geo-political and trade challengers, as well as the uncertainty of the central bank policies, Vontobel expects a difficult market environment in the second half of the year, where cautious is needed», said Vontobel CEO Zeno Staub.
«Nevertheless we will strive for a further increase in the already solid profitability through the full year», he added.
