Geneva-based banking group SYZ posted a clear recovery in earnings for the 2016 financial year.
The rise in operating revenue and the fall in expenses enabled SYZ Group to report net consolidated income for 2016 that was substantially higher year-on-year.
Following the 2015 financial year, which was weighed down by non-recurring expenses related to the outsourcing of operational activities and the purchase of Royal Bank of Canada (Suisse) SA, the group's operating revenue increased by 16.8 per cent in 2016 to reach CHF216.6 million (2015: CHF185.5 million). This increase was primarily due to strong growth in income from fee-based operations and services, and from strong trading income.
Simultaneously, operating expenses fell 10.5 per cent over the 2016 financial year due to the net fall in non-recurring expenses and lower staff costs following the merger with the Swiss subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), as well as the deconsolidation of the personnel at the Spanish joint venture sold in May 2016.
Accordingly, SYZ Group posted a clear recovery in operating income for the 2016 financial year, reaching CHF4 million compared to an operating loss of CHF37.7 million in 2015. After adjusting for extraordinary income, net consolidated income came to CHF9 million for 2016, after a net loss of CHF38.5 million posted in 2015.
Eric Syz (pictured), CEO of SYZ Group, says: "These results are proof of the soundness of the growth strategy implemented in 2014. The acquisition of Royal Bank of Canada in 2015 has had a synergistic effect: catapulting Banque SYZ into the top 20 private Swiss banking institutions and enabling it to be a consolidator on the financial marketplace. The transaction also expanded our activities in geographic regions experiencing high growth, such as Africa and Latin America. The commitment and motivation of the teams that joined us were also determining factors in successfully securing customer loyalty."
