The first half of 2019 was one of rapid growth at Pictet, the Geneva-based private bank. Assets under management reached 544 billion Swiss francs ($549 billion) at the end of June, up 48 billion francs from the end of 2018, according to the half-year report published on Monday.

The key figure though, profit, was down: the bank had net income of 265 million francs in the reporting period, down 17 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Higher Cost-Income Ratio

The price the bank is paying for its expansion is exemplied by the cost-income ratio. The indicator worsened by 5 percent points to 74 percent, the bank said.

One of the reasons for the higher ratio is the boost in the number of jobs. Pictet created 160 full-time-equivalents in the past half year, with 100 of those based in Switzerland. Operative income by contrast dropped to 1.28 billion francs from 1.35 billion a year earlier.