2024 won't be a record year for Alpha Rheintal Bank, but the institution is on track to achieve its second-best result: The half-year profit for the first semester of 2024 is 8.9 million Swiss francs, 0.9 million Swiss francs lower than the same period last year. By comparison, in the first half of 2022, the bank reported a profit of 6.59 million Swiss francs, about 25 percent less than the current half-year.

Nearly 40 Percent Increase in Trading Revenue

In the record year, it was the interest business that drove Alpha Rheintal Bank's success. This year, it's the trading business. Revenue from trading reached 6.0 million Swiss francs, a 1.7 million Swiss franc increase, or a 39.9 percent rise.

Interest income in the first six months of the current year amounted to 14.1 million Swiss francs, a decrease of 16.3 percent.

In light of this, the bank decided to eliminate account management fees: Customers who do not need a debit Mastercard will not pay any account management fees.

Decline in Mortgage Loans

The volume of mortgage loans slightly decreased in the first half of 2024, down 0.6 percent to 2.333 billion Swiss francs. Customer loans also declined (239.5 million Swiss francs; -3.2 percent). The same trend applies to loans to banks (28.9 million Swiss francs, -22.3 percent) as well as trading portfolios, financial investments, and participations (31.7 million Swiss francs, -23.3 percent).