Swiss regional banking group Valiant has performed sufficiently well in the first nine months of the year to predict a higher full-year profit than in 2018.
Valiant reported a profit of 86.5 million Swiss francs ($87.1 million) for the first nine months of 2019, according to a statement released on Thursday. The slight increase of 1.5 percent was mainly due to the strong interest business.
Gross interest income rose 2.2 percent to 233.1 million francs. The margin was stable at 1.11 percent. Loans added 2.4 percent. In all, the company now sees itself on target to slightly exceed the full-year profit achieved last year.
Fees and commissions by contrast dropped marginally (minus 0.9 percent), while the trading business added 5.4 percent in the first nine months.
Hirings Boost Operating Costs
In 2016, Valiant embarked on an expansion strategy that also resulted in higher costs, an effect that continued into 2019. This year so far, operating costs rose 1.7 percent to 175.2 million francs. With the addition of 27 full-time-equivalent jobs, Valiant increased outlays for its staff by 3.5 percent.
The cost-income ratio rose to 57.3 percent from 56.6 percent a year ago. Operating profit dropped 7.1 percent to 105.1 million francs, mainly because it had a one-time dividend from Aduno in the same period last year.
