Vontobel’s Financial Products, the division housing the Swiss bank’s structured products business, generated a 32% increase in turnover on stockmarkets in Switzerland, Germany and Scandinavia compared with the first half of the previous year with the bank’s Deritrade multi-issuer platform (MIP) delivering good results.
Vontobel generated a net profit of CHF97.8m (€91m) in the first half of 2015, an increase of 33% compared with the same period of the previous year with the bank’s Financial Products unit “expanding its market position in the structured products and derivatives business as a result of good income growth as well as rigorous cost discipline, and despite considerable foreign exchange headwinds,” said the bank in its H1 results report.
According to Vontobel, its Financial Products division strengthened its position in Switzerland and Germany, and successfully established itself in the rapidly growing market for leverage products in Scandinavia gaining a market share of 18.4% since its launch in January.
The Swiss bank continued to expand the Deritrade MIP with the addition of JP Morgan to its pool of issuers (Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Societe Generale, UBS, Vontobel and ZKB), which account for more than 70% of the exchange-traded volume of structured products in the country. Deritrade is now used by 31 banks and more than 300 asset managers in Switzerland who purchased almost CHF1bn of structured products in the first half of 2015.
In the Asia-Pacific region, the Swiss bank has been adding a number of distributors to its Deritrade platform with the addition of Crédit Industriel et Commercial (CIC) alongside LGT, Maybank, KGI Securities and Union Bancaire Privée. In addition, Remigio Luongo joined Vontobel Financial Products in Asia Pacific as chief executive in early June to spearhead the development of Vontobel Financial Products in the region alongside Gerhard Meier (pictured), global head of Vontobel’s multi-issuer platform deritrade MIP.
Financial Products increased its pre-tax profit by 41% to CHF38.4m while earnings per share rose by 52% and the resulting return on equity was 13.6%.
The Swiss bank also reported on the acquisition of a majority stake in the UK boutique TwentyFour Asset Management which was completed at the end of April and already made a positive contribution to Vontobel’s results for two months in the first half of the year.
Vontobel has placed a particular focus on emerging markets in Asia Pacific and will strive to at least double its current business volume in the region by 2020, stated the bank. “This shall be achieved by pursuing the proven “niche strategy”.
The Swiss bank also reported that driven by net new money of CHF6.4bn, good investment performance and the successful completion of the TwentyFour Asset Management acquisition, advised client assets reached a new record level of CHF142.2bn.
“With our proven service and product excellence, we were able to consolidate our market position as the ‘Most Trusted Global Investment adviser’ in all our focus markets and have achieved strong operating results,” said Zeno Staub, CEO of Vontobel. “Our impressive inflow of net new money confirms the merits of our client-focused strategy.”
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