Luzerner Kantonalbank, the state-owned institute of the region of Lucerne, recorded almost the same profit in 2015 as in 2014. It struggled with the interest difference business after the central bank introduced negative rates in January last year.
Luzerner Kantonalbank (LUKB), majority-owned by the canton of Lucerne, had a profit of 180.1 million Swiss francs last year, down 1 percent from the year-earlier period, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
Income from the interest business dropped 5.3 percent to 303.6 million francs, commissions were down 1.7 percent and reached 82.7 million, the bank said. Trading income rose 7.7 percent to 22.5 million.
Better Than Expected
The main factor weighing on the result of the company was the decision by the Swiss central bank (SNB) in January of last year to do away with the peg of the franc with the euro and to introduce negative interest rates.
«We achieve a better operative result in 2015 than suspected after the decision of the SNB on January 15, 2015,» Daniel Salzmann, CEO of LUKB, said in the statement.
Unchanged Dividend
Assets under management rose 2.5 percent to 26.8 billion francs. LUKB proposes to pay an unchanged dividend of 11 francs a share. The canton of Lucerne, which owns almost 62 percent of the bank, will receive a total of 70 million through the dividend, the payment for the state guarantee and taxes.
LUKB is listed on the SIX stock exchange.
