Swissquote, Switzerland's largest online bank, reported client assets reaching record levels in the first half of the year. It ups its full-year guidance.
Assets under management at Swissquote reached record levels at the end of June, rising 9 percent to 56.9 billion Swiss francs ($60 billion) from 52.2 billion at the end of last year, according to results released Wednesday.
The bank attracted three billion francs of net new month new money through the first six months of the year, up 239 million, or 8.7 percent from the end of December. The growth was purely organic compared to last year when the acquisition of Luxembourg's Keytrade Bank was included. Net profit increased 38 percent to 106.5 million francs.
Net revenues were also a record with 265.6 million, up nearly 33 percent from the comparable period a year ago, with net interest income rising almost 600 percent to 102.7 million, with Swissquote attributed to the higher interest rate environment. Income from crypto assets fell 62 percent to 7.5 million.
Total expenses grew 30 percent to 138.4 million francs, primarily due to higher marketing expenses and variable compensation that impacted payroll and related expenses. Headcount at the bank increased 5.1 percent over the past six months, rising to 1,110 from 1,056 mainly in technology and at foreign subsidiaries.
Guidance Revised Upward
No recovery in market sentiment is expected for the second half of this year, but Swissquote said it anticipates results similar to those for the first half. Underlying assumptions shifted towards a generally higher share of non-transaction-based revenues in comparison to initial guidance. For the full year, net revenues and pre-tax profit are now expected to be approximately 530 million francs compared to (initially: 495 million and around 250 million francs versus 230 million francs, respectively.
