To boost profit, Valiant bank is realigning its branch network, closing some while opening others. Its consolidated net profit for the first nine months of the year rose 4.4 percent.
Regional Swiss bank Valiant said it continued to record growth in the third quarter, thereby helping to increase profits over the first nine months by 4.4 percent to just under 92.5 million Swiss francs, according to a statement on Tuesday.
Valiant's operating profit rose by 3 percent since the beginning of the year and was particularly successful in its trading operations with a net increase of 26.7 percent on foreign exchange transactions, according to the institute. Costs increased by 6.1 percent.
Expanding While Saving
The bank aims to save between 12 and 15 million francs a year from 2024 onwards and is implementing savings and optimization measures throughout the entire company. To achieve this 17 of the 23 planned branch closures were completed through the end of September while converting one of a total of six customer zones.
This appears to be a growing trend. Rival Credit Suisse announced yesterday it is closing fourteen Swiss locations, while UBS eliminated 40 branches in the past two years.
Headcount Steady
But as one door closes, another opens. Valiant opened its fourth branch in Winterthur in August and its fifth in Meilen in the canton of Zurich at the end of October. The doors will open in Uster, also in the Canton of Zurich at the end of November 2022. Between 2020 and 2024, Valiant will open 14 additional branches, creating 170 full-time positions, including 140 in client advisory services, according to the promise. The expansion from Lake Geneva to Lake Constance is proceeding according to plan, the bank said.
The headcount has remained exactly in place since the beginning of the year, at just under 995 full-time positions.
