Banks Valiant increases profit in the first nine months

Valiant increased its earnings in the first nine months of the year despite lower interest income. On balance, the bank achieved a profit of over 100 million francs and remains confident for the year as a whole.

Net operating income as a measure of operating performance rose by 5.0 percent year-on-year to CHF 177.7 million in the months from January to September 2024, as Valiant announced on Thursday. Due to the positive development, the bank allocated CHF 16 million to its reserves for general banking risks. Group profit rose by 5.3 percent to 105.0 million francs.

Operating income increased by 2.6 percent to 417.4 million. However, the important interest business fell by 3.4 percent to 307.4 million. According to Valiant, the "slight decline" in net interest income was due on the one hand to the changed interest rate environment. On the other hand, Valiant lowered interest rates for customers one less time than the Swiss National Bank (SNB).

20 new jobs

The commission and services business, on the other hand, increased significantly in the first nine months of the year (+10% to CHF 68.0 million). And the trading business even grew by almost a third (+32% to CHF 40.2 million).

Operating expenses, however, increased only slightly (+1.4% to 223.8 million). Valiant attributes the increase in costs to investments, particularly in digitalization and the further development of its offering. Valiant added a total of 20 full-time positions in 2024.

The bank's loans increased by 1.7 percent to CHF 30.19 billion in the reporting period. Mortgage loans also increased by 1.7 percent to 28.68 billion francs. According to the report, both the new locations opened as part of the expansion and the existing locations contributed to this growth.

Confident about the future

Valiant confirmed its outlook for the current year: The company continues to expect a higher consolidated profit for 2024 than in the previous year. The figure for 2023 was 144.3 million.

The bank also confirmed its long-term goals: profitability is to be increased by 2026, with a cost/income ratio of less than 55 percent being targeted. The return on equity should be above 7 percent. At least 50 percent of profits are to be distributed, with the dividend increasing annually.

SDA