Raiffeisen had a record profit in 2015, with growth across all business units. The bank has moderate expectations for 2016 as companies are still struggling to come to terms with the strong Swiss franc.
Raiffeisen's profit in 2015 rose 6.4 percent to 808 million Swiss francs, the company said in a statement today. The sale of a stake in Leonteq worth 62 million francs helped boost profit.
Growth at the banking group was broadly based: commissions and services yielded 34 million francs more, trading posted an increase in profit of 52 million and interests added 41 million.
More Broadly Based
«Vontobel in recent years developed from a retail bank to a broadly diversified financial services company capable of covering the diverse needs of customers,» Raiffeisen CEO Patrik Gisel said in the statement.
Assets under management increased 5.3 percent to 207 billion francs. Mortgages rose 5.2 percent to 159 billion, giving Raiffeisen a market share of 17 percent in Switzerland.
Real Estate Soft Landing
The St. Gallen-based bank, one of the biggest players in the financing of the Swiss real estate market, said house prices had leveled off. Thus, the market had managed a «soft landing».
In its general economic outlook, Raiffeisen remains «rather cautious», the bank said. Following the appreciation of the franc in January 2015, Swiss exporters not only faced a struggle to match prices offered by rivals abroad but also an uncertain global economic outlook. The acceleration of growth in the European Union and a continuation of the increase in domestic consumption provided rays of hope for companies.
