Swiss private bank Julius Baer has reported adjusted net profit of CHF 705.5m for the full year ended 31 December 2016, a 153% surge compared to CHF279.2m in a year ago.
The previous year's results included provision of $547m for a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over the legacy US cross-border business. Excluding this provision, the group’s adjusted net profit increased 1%.
On IFRS basis, net profit attributable to shareholders jumped by 411% to CHF619.4m from CHF121.2m a year ago.
Net commission and fee income increased 3% to CHF1.56bn from CHF1.52bn the year ago, while net trading income slumped 24% year-on-year to CHF 332.5m.
Operating income rose 6% to CHF2.85bn from CHF2.69bn in the prior year. The bank said that the rise was driven by a significant rise in net interest income as well as increases in net commission and fee income.
Adjusted operating expenses stood at CHF2bn, a fall of 16% compared to CHF2.38bn a year ago. Excluding the US provision, adjusted operating expenses increased 8%.
Assets under management (AuM) increased 12% to CHF336.2bn from CHF299.7 at the end of 2015. The bank attributed the rise in AuM to market performance of CHF12.7bn, net new money of CHF11.9bn, a net acquisition impact of CHF11.2bn following the first-time consolidation of Kairos Investment Management and the acquisition of Commerzbank International S.A. Luxembourg (CISAL), as well as a small positive currency impact of CHF0.7bn.
Julius Baer Group CEO Boris Collardi said: “We took full advantage of market conditions and our standing as the leading pure private banking group in 2016, by investing significantly in the recruitment of experienced relationship managers. 2016 has proven to be a challenging year which we mastered very well, validating the strength of our Group.
Despite the significant long-term investments made, the strong growth in AuM helped to drive Julius Baer’s profit generation. The Group is excellently positioned to deliver further profitable growth and shareholder value in the coming years.”
