Results 2022
Geneva and Yverdon-les-Bains, 27 April 2023 – In 2022, despite a particularly difficult macroeconomic and geopolitical context, the private bank Piguet Galland & Cie SA, a subsidiary of Banque Cantonale Vaudoise (BCV), demonstrated commercial dynamism and outstanding financial resilience achieving a 4% increase in revenues, a net new money contribution of CHF 451 million and an increase of 10% in loans granted to clients.
The year 2022, impacted by a particularly challenging macroeconomic and financial setting, saw a deterioration in the geopolitical situation and a surge in inflation. Despite these conditions, the 2022 financial year at Piguet Galland saw continuity of the positive momentum observed in 2021, with inflows of new money and new clients reaching CHF 451 million. Growth was mainly achieved on the French-speaking Swiss market with local clients, therefore in line with the Bank’s strategy of focussing development on a model of proximity. However, the movements in financial markets had an impact, resulting in all asset classes falling sharply, with the exception of commodities. Due to this environment, the Bank’s assets under management decreased by 7% over the past financial year to CHF 6.3 billion at the end of December 2022.
Commission-based operations, which account for the largest share of the Bank’s operations, fell by just 3%, to CHF 38.6 million. At the same time, interest-based operations generated a significant increase in revenues of 22% reaching CHF 9.1 million, while trading income soared by 24% to CHF 11.5 million. Based on these results, the Board of Directors decided to pay an unchanged dividend to its shareholders, just over CHF 3 million in total, as in 2021.
Several factors can explain this positive dynamic. In 2012, the Bank already started building a service offering designed to fully satisfy the needs of its local clients, based on three pillars: asset management, wealth advisory services and financing (notably through mortgages). Over the past decade, Piguet Galland has consolidated and fine-tuned these services. Today, the Bank continues to reap the benefits of this strategy in terms of commercial development and profitability, with annual revenues increasing by 4%, reaching CHF 59.6 million at the end of 2022. With the aim of extending and amplifying these positive developments, Piguet Galland has continued to recruit staff with new skill-sets, invest in employee training, work on its notoriety in its target market, develop its distribution channels, implement new tools and strengthen its processes. These investments led to an increase in operating expenses of 7% in 2022, reaching CHF 47.8 million. As a result of these changes, net profit amounted to CHF 7.2 million at the end of 2022, i.e., a decrease of 7% compared to net profit in 2021 (CHF 7.7 million).
Regarding the balance sheet, sales development is reflected in an expansion of credit assets of CHF 84 million. In total, the balance sheet amounts to CHF 1.3 billion, a decrease of 3% compared to 2021. Equity increased by 6% to reach CHF 75 million at the end of 2022, anchoring the financial stability of the institution. The overall equity ratio of the Bank and that of the BCV Group are 15.8% and 17.7% respectively, well above the regulatory requirement of 13.9% for the Bank and 14% for the Group.
For the second consecutive year, the magazine ‘International Banker’ has voted Piguet Galland Best Swiss Private Bank. “This is great recognition of the work accomplished over the last decade, confirming the pertinence of our business model within a banking world which is profoundly changing” said Olivier Calloud, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of Piguet Galland.
For 2023, Piguet Galland expects to maintain the growth rate achieved in 2022. In order to sustain this momentum, the Bank continues to expand and reinforce the commercial teams of its existing sites as well as the expert teams who lead the three pillars of our service offering: portfolio management, financing and wealth advisory services.
Additionally, two major strategic initiatives are underway. The first focuses on accelerating the digitalisation of client interfaces, the other on strengthening the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) approach. Both initiatives are designed to enable the Bank to rise to the challenges of tomorrow’s world (and those of today) thereby meeting the evolving expectations of clients whilst contributing to their serenity by accompanying them in the realisation of their projects.
