As the second-quarter reporting season continued, the Swiss private banking group set out a broadly stronger set of financial results.

Union Bancaire Privée, the Geneva-headquartered private bank, yesterday reported a net profit of SFr138.1 million ($155.3 million) for the first half of 2024, rising by 24.6 per cent on a year before. There was a notably strong positive boost from interest operations, the bank said.

The rise took place on the back of an 8.8 per cent rise in total operating income to SFr670 million. Net fees and commissions income rose 5.6 per cent to SFr370 million; the net result from interest operations rose 17.4 per cent to SFr243.2 million.

Total operating costs rose 7 per cent to SFr443.6 million; personnel costs rose 6.7 per cent to SFr319.5 million. Depreciation, value adjustments, provisions and losses fell 7.3 per cent to SFr59 million, UBP said in a statement. 

Client assets rose 7.3 per cent year-on-year to SFr150.8 million. 

Return on equity increased to 10.7 per cent from 8.7 per cent. UBP’s Tier 1 capital ratio was 27.2 per cent, down from 28.9 per cent. The liquidity ratio dropped to 267.8 per cent from 313.9 per cent. 

Besides its Geneva HQ, the bank has offices in more than 20 locations, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and Zurich.

Among recent stories, this news service talked to UBP in Geneva about why it sees a disconnect between the level of discussion about ESG investing and what high net worth clients are actually doing with their money. It also issued a report in April on its thoughts about growth, opportunities and risks in the private debt market. This news service also heard from UBP's investment team in June about its views on hedge funds – a sector in which the bank has traditionally been an important player.