Valiant posted a profit of 51.7 million Swiss francs in the first half of this year, 6.5 percent more than in the same period of 2015, the bank reported on Thursday.

The bank said it had achieved the improvement despite extraordinary conditions in the financial markets. Interest rates had declined compared with the end of 2015 and reached a new low this summer.

Drop in Commissions

Valiant still managed to boost its net interest income to 143.2 million francs 2.5 percent in the year. The operative rate margin remained at 1.07 percent.

Income from commissions declined 5.1 percent amid challenging market conditions. The profit dropped to 28.8 million francs.

Mortgages rose slightly to 20.5 billion francs and customer assets also increased moderately to 18.2 billion francs.

Full-Year Net to Increase

Based on this result, Valiant expects a slightly better full-year result.

In December, Valiant will open shop in Brugg combining digital services and personal advice in its new type of high-street branch, the bank announced.