Banks ZKB earned slightly less in the first half of the year

In the first half of 2024, Zürcher Kantonalbank was not quite able to match the record profit from the previous year. In particular, net interest income and net trading income were down.

Net operating income as a measure of operating performance fell by 18.3% to CHF 679 million, while consolidated profit was down 11.3% to CHF 601 million. Operating income fell by 7.5 percent to 1.56 billion francs. The Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB) wrote in a press release on Friday that it had "once again achieved a pleasing half-year result in a challenging environment".

In the interest business, the bank's most important source of income, net income fell by 9.3 percent to 858 million francs. The previous year's high figure was characterized by one-off special factors, according to the statement. In addition to the return to a positive interest rate environment, the bank benefited in particular from the fact that the shift of client funds to higher-yielding investment opportunities was slower than expected.

At 177 million francs, net income from the trading business was almost 30 percent lower. According to ZKB, the result reflects the lack of momentum in the first half of 2024. However, it was able to increase its commission and services business by 7.1 percent to CHF 509 million.

The bank is optimistic about the further course of business. The extraordinarily high net interest income from the previous year will not be repeated to the same extent in 2024. Nevertheless, he expects a "pleasing result", CEO Urs Baumann is quoted as saying in the press release.

SDA