Swissquote, Switzerland's biggest online bank with a strong presence in Singapore, has seen its revenues surge in the first half of 2020, making the company one of few to profit from the lockdown. Its staff is due for a higher bonus.
Swissquote, which is known for its online-trading services, beat all its own expectations in the first half of the year, according to a statement released on Tuesday.
The company, based in Gland, Switzerland, had a net profit of 50.4 million Swiss francs ($55 million) in the first six months, more than double the amount of the same period in 2019. The bank revised up its forecast for full-year profit to 100 million francs.
The bank had a massive increase in trading traffic in the crisis-months, boosting its revenues. The increase also resulted in a strong inflow of assets. Organic growth was 3 billion francs, while client assets added almost 10 percent to 33.5 billion.
Strong Demand for Robo-Advisory
Swissquote opened more than 50,000 new accounts for clients in the first six months of 2020. The robo-advisory service performed very strongly, with an increase of such accounts by almost 40 percent.
The higher turnover led to a marked increase in costs, with a plus of 17.4 percent in outlays for staff compared with a year ago. Swissquote had 65 more members of staff and put more money aside for bonus payments.
