Basler Kantonalbank's profit increased by a quarter last year, helped by strong trading and a slightly improved interest-earning business.
Basler Kantonalbank (BKB) had a profit of 89 million Swiss francs in 2015, compared with 71 million a year earlier, the company said in a statement today.
BKB last year had to pay 38.6 million euros as part of its tax agreement with the German authorities, without which operating profit would have been even higher. Revenue from commissions and services declined 16 percent as the white-money strategy and the end of kick-backs took hold.
Trading income increased 27 percent to 63.1 million francs as customers invested in hedging positions in response to the end of the euro peg and the volatility of exchange rates. The interest-earning business yielded 2.3 percent more, or a total of 181.1 million francs.
Investment Drive
Following its decision to turn the institute into a digital bank, BKB spent more than 30 million on measures that will help it achieve the transition. BKB this year plans to spend about 38 million francs to renovate branches and digital technology.
The bank also expects the U.S. judiciary to pass its verdict on the tax dispute this year and believes the 100 million francs put aside for that purpose to cover the expected fine.
BKB will pay an unchanged divided of 3.1 francs per participation certificate.
