Brazilian-Swiss private bank J. Safra Sarasin posted a breathtakingly low cost-income ratio in the first half. Healthy client activity underpinned the earnings.
J. Safra Sarasin communicates sparingly since it was taken over by Brazil's Safra group. The private bank bolstered its first-half profits by 29 percent to 180.6 million Swiss francs ($180.6 million), according to information obtained by finews.asia.
The Swiss-based bank lifted revenue by more than 5 percent, while keeping spending virtually unchanged on the year. The bank recorded revenue of 637.8 million francs in the first six months. This led to a cost-income ratio of 51.9 percent, a staggeringly low reading which is also an improvement from the 54.8 percent J. Safra Sarasin posted in the year-ago period.
Capital Market Standout
Trading and investment activity stand out as a key source of revenue for the bank, climbing 16.5 million francs on the year. This and a rise in commissions underpinned the rise in profit, which is remarkable because Safra Sarasin is an industry standout in leanness, asfinews.com previously reported.
Safra Sarasin's tightfistedness is striking given the dealmaking strategy of the bank, which is controlled by 79-year-old Brazilian billionaire Joseph Safra. The bank has managed to overtake competitors like Lombard Odier and Vontobel with acquisitions from Bank Leumi and Hapoalim in Luxembourg, Credit Suisse's Monaco and Gibralter businesses, and Morgan Stanley's activities in Zurich and Geneva.
