Thu, Feb 15th 2024
In a remarkable financial year, Basel’s Basler Kantonalbank (BKB) sees a significant profit boost, benefiting from favorable interest rates and strategic growth in its core sectors.
Basler Kantonalbank (BKB), rooted in Basel, marked a substantial profit escalation in the recent fiscal period, capitalizing on the favorable interest rate landscape that buoyed local banks. The Basel-centric financial consortium, encapsulating Bank Cler alongside the BKB flagship, disclosed a 19.2% leap in operating profit, reaching CHF 275.9 million, reflecting a solid operational performance.
Post-allocation of additional general banking risk reserves, the group’s consolidated profit saw a 21.3% surge, amounting to CHF 169.4 million. This financial upturn enables a dividend uplift to CHF 3.25 per participation certificate for BKB-PS holders from the preceding year’s CHF 3.10. The canton Basel-Stadt is set to reap a CHF 92.6 million distribution, marking an increase from the prior CHF 85.1 million.
A noteworthy 12.6% increase in the BKB Group’s operational income to CHF 674.9 million was primarily fueled by its principal revenue source, the interest business, which saw an 18.0% rise to CHF 460.4 million. This boost is attributed to heightened volumes and normalized margins post the interest rate adjustment.
The bank’s mortgage receivables swelled by 5.2% to CHF 33.2 billion, indicating a strengthened market position. Despite a minor dip in the commission and services sector, down 0.7% to CHF 134.1 million due to reduced transactional income, net trading income experienced an 8.3% increase to CHF 71.5 million.
Operational expenditures ascended by 5.0% to CHF 353.6 million, albeit slower than income, courtesy of streamlined business operations. Following Bank Cler’s strategic retreat from several sectors, BKB has centralized the management of corporate and institutional investment clients, enhancing the cost/income ratio to an impressive 52.5%.
Looking ahead to 2024, a year marking BKB’s 125th anniversary, the bank is set on continuing its process optimizations, IT infrastructure enhancements, and profitable growth ventures. BKB’s CEO, Basil Heeb, expresses optimism about maintaining the preceding year’s profit levels, underlining a forward-looking stance for Basel’s banking sector.
©Keystone/SDA
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