Swiss private bank Maerki Baumann more than doubled its net profit on the year in the first half as its client assets grew by almost a quarter.
Zurich-based private bank Maerki Baumann’s net profit more than doubled to 4.4 million Swiss francs ($4.8 million) in the first half from 2.1 million a year earlier, it said in an earnings statement Wednesday.
The family-owned bank’s client assets grew 23.7 percent year on year to 9.6 billion francs.
Of its revenue streams, net trading income grew the most in the first half by 58.8 percent to 1.5 million francs. Net income from fees and commissions increased 13.6 percent to 15.8 million francs.
Slow Growth in Operating Costs
The bank’s first-half operating expenses rose just 2.1 percent on the year to 15.3 million francs, and its number of employees in full-time equivalent fell to 67.7 from 70.5.
Maerki Baumann, one of the oldest private banks in Switzerland, launched a crypto trading desk last June.
When the desk's launch was announced CEO Stephan Zwahlen said: «With the trading and custody of digital assets, not only are we tapping into a new business area, we are also creating additional investment possibilities for our core business.»
