St.Galler Kantonalbank investing in core market
St.Gallen – In the first half of 2018, the St.Galler Kantonalbank (SGKB) increased its consolidated profit slightly. Although the operating result was down, managed assets were up over the same period. The SGKB now plans to invest in Eastern Switzerland, the remainder of German-speaking Switzerland and Germany.
St.Galler Kantonalbank (SGKB) intends to strengthen its market position by investing specifically in personal on-site advisory, it reported in the press release on its half-year results for 2018. It will be concentrating on the core markets of Eastern Switzerland, the remainder of German-speaking Switzerland and Germany. One to three subsidiaries will now be modernised every year and 30 to 35 new jobs will be created in advisory by 2020. This focus on the core markets is reflected in the sale of the subsidiary in Lisbon which was executed in the second quarter of 2018. The SGKB also announced that it will be driving forward the process of digitalisation.
In its figures for the first half of 2018, the SGKB reported an increase of 0.8 per cent in consolidated profit to 81.2 million Swiss francs. Although the operating result dropped 2.6 per cent to 94.8 million francs, operating income was raised by 4.9 per cent to 234.7 million francs.
While managed assets increased by 1.9 per cent to 43.2 billion francs, the SGKB highlights that “the result from commission business and services developed very well”, with growth of 14.3 per cent to 60.6 million francs.
For 2018 as a whole, the SGKB expects consolidated profit to be at a similar level to the previous year.