After a successful 2019, VP Bank of Liechtenstein is expecting business conditions to become much tougher in 2020 – not least because of the coronavirus.

Last year was a year of turbulence for Liechtenstein’s VP Bank: in January 2019, Alfred Moeckli, the chief executive officer, left the bank. His successor, wealth management head Paul Arni, assumed the job as CEO in October. By that time, most of the year was over.

Urs Monstein, the chief operating officer, had been left in charge for the months from February through September, and the bank seems to have done fairly well under his (and Arni’s) guidance. VP Bank increased its net income by 34 percent to 73.5 million Swiss francs ($78.7 million) in 2019, according to a statement released on Tuesday.

Trading and Commissions Rise

The bank profited from brisk business, fueled by a surge in stock markets and demand for its services. Income from trading added 10.9 percent to 61 million francs, while income from commissions and services rose 10.4 percent to 137.2 million francs. Interest income however was up 3.7 percent and reached 115.1 million francs.

Operating expenses rose 12.5 million francs to 244.8 million, with personnel expenses accounting for 7.7 million francs of the increase. VP Bank added 14 relationship managers to the team. The cost-income-ratio dropped to 67.6 percent from 75.8 percent.

Assets under management increased by 15 percent to 47.6 billion francs. Net new money was 2.3 billion, down from the 3.2 billion recorded in 2018.

Change of Chairman

Fredy Vogt, the chairman of VP Bank, will step down from the role after eight years, but remain a member of the board. His deputy, Thomas Meier, will stand for election as chairman at the annual general meeting on April 24. Vogt said that the time for right to stand down as a new strategy cycle was beginning and after the completion of the change of leadership at the operational level.

VP Bank expects 2020 to be a year of transition. Given the current turbulence in the markets, the bank sees a significant slowdown that will impact earnings and financial investments: «Of the three defined financial targets, consequently, the profit target of 80 million francs will be particularly difficult to achieve,» the bank wrote in its statement.