EFG International saw net profits in the first half of 2022 surge, fuelled by the rising interest rate environment.
EFG posted 115 million Swiss francs ($118.5 million) in underlying net profit in the first half of 2022, according to its latest results, marking a 39.7 percent increase from the same period last year.
While fee, commission and other income all fell, driven largely by muted activity from client risk aversion, net interest income grew 19.5 percent to 152 million francs. Operating expenses stayed flat at 477.1 million francs, up 0.3 percent.
Markets Hit Assets
Despite the strong profitability, EFG was not immune to market effects with assets under management down 9.4 percent to 155 billion francs due to the bear market in the first half.
Net new assets were down from 4.2 billion francs to 1.7 billion francs, corresponding to an annualized growth rate of 2 percent. According to the bank, this figure doubles to 4 percent after the exclusion of de-risking and deleveraging effects.
«We are very pleased with EFG’s performance in the first half of the year and with the overall development of the business during the current strategic cycle, which is now entering its final stage,» the bank said in an opening letter co-authored by EFG board chair Peter A. Fanconi and chief executive Giorgio Pradelli. «Our first priority is to remain close to our clients and to offer them superior service in a seamless, simple and digitally augmented way with the support of our experienced [client relationship officers] around the globe.»
