Geneva-based Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) increased its assets under management (AUM) by 7.7 percent to 150.8 billion francs in the first half of 2024, compared to 140.0 billion francs at the end of 2023. The robust performance of the financial markets since the beginning of the year, as well as positive exchange rate effects, favored this development, the bank said.

Profit rose by 24.6 percent in the first half of 2024 to 138.1 million francs compared to 110.8 million francs in the same period of the previous year.

More Client Transactions

The operating income increased by 8.8 percent to 670.6 million francs compared to 616.4 million francs in the previous year.

This was thanks to higher volumes of client transactions, which led to a 5.6 percent increase in net commission and fee income, as well as stable development of recurring commission income, as further information revealed. The significant increase in net interest income by 17.4 percent, or 36.1 million francs, was due to the still high interest rates.

Large Number of New Hires

«Clients were once again more active in the markets, and we were able to offer them tailored investment solutions,» UBP CEO Guy de Picciotto said Monday. «At the same time, we have strengthened our compliance and IT infrastructure with significant investments to meet the increasing demands of the authorities in an increasingly complex regulatory environment.»

Operating expenses amounted to 443.6 million francs in the first half of 2024 compared to the previous year's 414.8 million francs. The increase was primarily due to the large number of new hires in 2023, particularly in the front office, and the associated infrastructure costs. Despite the newly hired employees, the cost/income ratio improved to 66.2 percent compared to 67.9 percent at the end of 2023.

Operating profit before taxes reached 167.9 million francs, an increase of 21.7 percent compared to the previous year's value of 138.0 million francs.