VP Bank had a lower profit last year than in 2017. It is the second bank from Liechtenstein to issue a profit warning following LLB.
VP Bank had a profit of about 55 million Swiss francs ($55 million) in 2018, down 17 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. The bank at the same time said that net new money reached the highest level in ten years: VP Bank received 3.2 billion francs from clients.
The negative interest rate regime applied by the Swiss National Bank as well as a decline in equity prices towards the end of the year combined to make life more difficult for the bank. Operating profit was flat at 291 million francs, with costs rising slightly to 232 million. The final figures for last year will be published March 5.
Bigger rival LLB a few days ago also had issued a profit warning, with a decline of 23 percent. Much as VP Bank, LLB suffered from challenging market conditions, while costs rose due to its growth strategy.
