Swiss private bank J. Safra Sarasin increased profits despite less client money. finews.asia spoke to the bank's Chairman Juerg Haller about the start of the year and the Credit Suisse effect.
J. Safra Sarasin Group put in an «outstanding performance» in the face of adversity last year. That's what Juerg Haller, the long-time chairman of J. Safra Sarasin, thinks of the firm's annual figures for 2022. He spoke to finews.asia on Tuesday about the performance of the private bank and looked to the future.
On earnings power alone, the bank performed admirably last year as net profit rose four percent to 440.2 million francs ($476.6 million) compared to the record year 2021.
100 Jobs Created
Although the bank did not provide figures, income was higher than in the previous year, and while Haller said income from its commission business was lower than a year ago, the interest business and trading yielded higher income. Importantly, revenues grew faster than costs.
This is remarkable because the Group again increased its global workforce last year by around 100 positions to 2,400. Roughly half of that expansion was accounted for by front-line client advisors, the chairman said of the hires. «We are open to private bankers who can bring long-term client relationships to the bank,» Haller said.
J. Safra Sarasin has a reputation in the industry for being tough and that its plans for private bankers are always ambitious. In return, the firm pays above-average salaries. «We want our advisors to be successful,» says the bank's chairman. There are currently more than 500 client advisors working for the company globally.
Less New money
Despite the influx of recruits, new money was down by about a quarter, falling to four billion from 15 billion the previous year. Assets under management declined to 197.9 billion francs from 224.7 billion. The balance sheet, increased slightly to 45.6 billion francs, while the core capital ratio was 44.1 percent and well above regulatory ratios.
The question everyone is asking is whether wealth managers have benefitted from the massive outflows of client money from Credit Suisse. That was also a question posed to Haller. According to him, the effect was noticeable. However, numerous banks in the banking center of Switzerland also benefitted.
In recent months, J. Safra Sarasin opened offices in Madrid, Spain, and Milan, Italy, pushing ahead with its business with Italian professional investors. This year, the bank now wants to grow in a «disciplined» manner, Haller explains.
Growth on Three Axes
Growth at the private banking group occurs on three axes: organically through referrals from existing clients, the acquisition of individual private bankers or entire teams from competitors, and via takeovers of entire banks.
J. Safra Sarasin will still be able to handle such a transaction in the future, Haller explained. However, he said, there needs to be a fit between the two companies, the clients and the employees. »In the end, takeovers cannot be planned,» Haller told finews.asia.
