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BCGE Annual Report 2019

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BCGE Annual Report 2019 ANNUAL REPORT 2019 BCGE Group Consolidated key figures Balance sheet (in CHF million) 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 Balance sheet total 24,919 23,034 22,671 21,393 20,016 Advances to clients 17,025 16,603 15,692 14,973 13,711 Customer deposits and borrowings 18,965 18,056 17,981 16,315 15,691 Shareholders’ equity 1,667 1,570 1,472 1,386 1,319 Results (in CHF million) Net profit from interest operations 231 247 210 206 198 Result from commission business and services 120 117 107 100 101 Result from trading activities 31 29 30 26 28 Other ordinary income 37 16 19 17 20 Total operating income 420 409 366 349 347 Operating expenses 239 232 223 222 211 Operating profit (in CHF million) 165 161 128 111 130 Result of the period (in CHF million) 97 91 82 79 78 Assets managed and administered (in CHF billion) 30.4 26.7 26.4 23.1 21.8 Total number of employees • by full-time work units 780.4 760.6 748.3 737.6 720.5 • by people 833 811 799 791 773 Ratios (in %) Shareholders’ equity/total assets 6.7 6.8 6.5 6.5 6.6 Market capitalisation to equity 84.0 88.1 80.2 77.3 71.2 Operating profit to equity 10.1 10.5 8.9 8.1 10.0 Return on Equity (ROE) 5.9 5.9 5.6 5.8 6.0 Costs/income 56.9 56.7 60.8 63.4 60.9 Capital coverage 16.1 15.6 15.0 13.2 14.4 Figures per share (in CHF) Shareholders’ equity 232 218 204 193 183 Operating profit 23 22 18 15 18 Net profit 13 13 11 11 11 Dividend per CHF 50 share 3.75* 3.4 2.9 2.8 2.8 Stock market data (parent company) High and low share prices (in CHF) • high 206 198 166 149 131 • low 192 162 148 129 105 • close 195 192 164 149 130 Market capitalisation (in CHF million at 31 December) 1,400 1,382 1,180 1,072 939 Number of shares in thousands (historic information) 7,200 7,200 7,200 5,721 5,721 Book equity/number of shares 234 221 207 195 186 * Proposal submitted to the Annual General Meeting on 5 May 2020. Overview Inside cover BCGE Group key consolidated figures 1 3 Changes in main indicators in 2019 Messages 4 Message from the Chairman 6 Message from the Chief Executive Officer Presentation of the BCGE Group 8 Portrait of the Group 10 Corporate strategy 12 Organisation chart 14 Business model 16 Geographical organisation 18 The BCGE share 20 Services 21 Digital banking 22 Risk control 24 Talents and expertise 27 Ethical and environmental responsibility policy Shareholder information, 43 corporate governance Comments on 66 the Group financial statements Consolidated financial statements 71 and notes 2019, BCGE Group Annual financial statements 109 and notes 2019, parent company Inside back cover Addresses Cover photo Eline Rol, training hard on the Rade de Genève. BCGE Annual Report 2019 Changes in major indicators in 2019 Changes in main indicators in 2019 Progress on all fronts 2019 produced the latest in a series of high-quality annual financial results. 3 The operating result grew by 2.5% to CHF 165 million. Total assets amount to CHF 24.9 billion, withEvol uassetstion du underbilan et managementdes grands agrég andats c oadministrationmmerciaux up CHF 3.7 billion at CHF 30.4 billion.en CHF milliards Changes in the balance sheet and major business areas in CHF billion 4 . 0 3 7 4 . 30 . 9 30.4 6 6 . 2 2 4 1 0 7 . 2 8 4 3 billion 3 25 2 . 0 2 2 2 . 21 21 in assets under 0 management and 20 2 administration 15 7 4 . 0 . 4 . 0 . 1 1 . 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 10 1 3 2 . 7 . 6 . 5 7 5 4 . 5 4 3 0 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Balance Assets under management Mortgage Amounts due sheet and administration loans from client Change in profit and shareholders’ euity in CHF million in CHF million 7 1,667 1,800 6 _ 250 0 6 , 7 1 5 2 million , 1,600 7 1 6 4 , 8 of shareholders’ equity 9 1 3 1 , 200 _ 3 1,400 1 , 4 . 1 3 . 5 1 6 1,200 6 1 1 3 0 . 150 _ 0 8 1,000 3 2 7 . 1 1 0 1 800 1 _ 100 600 8 . 2 . 6 6 1 . 9 0 2 9 . 400 1 9 8 8 50 _ 7 7 200 0 _ 0 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Shareholders’ equity (left-hand scale) Operating result Net profit Change in dividend and BCGE share price in CHF thousands +10% 30,000 _200 _180 dividend 25,000 0 _160 00 0 , increase* 8 20,000 7 _140 4 2 , 0 4 0 0 _120 2 0 0 88 7.5* , 8 15,000 8 _100 , , 6.8 0 9 9 2 1 5.5 1 5.5 5.8 _80 10,000 0 6 0 0 _60 0 9 76 4 8 , , 96 1 96 , , _40 , 5 5,000 4 3 4 3 _20 0 _0 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Dividend amount paid Dividend per share in % Special allocation to the State of Geneva (20% of dividend) Share price in CHF *Dividend proposed to the AGM on 5 May 2020 (right-hand scale) BCGE Annual Report 2019 Messages Message from the Chairman of the Board of Directors BCGE: a stability factor and neighbourhood partner 4 The BCGE Group’s 2019 results are excellent. The BCGE: a stability factor and year has ended with the best result for 20 years. neighbourhood partner BCGE has thus demonstrated the relevance of its strategy, confirming its position as a stable, well- In Switzerland – in terms of an international structured and diversified banking group that has comparison – lively competition among banks on kept up with the times; a trusted ally for its clients, the financing market ensures a sufficient flow of shareholders, staff and partners. It is a strong and credit and appropriate pricing for companies reliable actor in a complex and unstable (particularly SMEs) and private individuals. This environment where negative interest rates are ecosystem was patiently built on the basis of private Professor Gilbert Probst increasingly becoming the norm; where economic, initiative, certainly, but also as a result of geopolitical and social equilibrium are constantly public policy. called into question; where there are heightened It is this healthy mix that gives Switzerland its risks of cyber-attack; and where responses to the strength as a financial centre. Against this climate emergency are insistently sought. background, the cantonal banks have a demonstrably important role with their well-defined New forms of interventionism neighbourhood service and regional mission. To these profound structural changes may be added As Switzerland’s oldest cantonal bank, founded in the steady erosion of numerous decision-making 1816, BCGE’s role is to assist in the growth of the rights of bank senior management. The economy of Geneva – a city open to the world – management of the level of funding, liquidity, and its surrounding region. It pursues its strategy of provisioning and multiple other banking tools are diversification and growth by dint of an intensive simply prescribed in legislative or administrative effort in terms of innovation and digitalisation, and decisions, thus reducing executives’ room for by continuously expanding the range of services manoeuvre. offered to private individuals and companies – from SMEs to multinationals. Another aspect of the interventionist trend is the artificial distortion of ordinary market forces by Using a business model based on the needs of the unorthodox monetary policies, e.g. negative rates ecosystem specific to Geneva as an international or the purchase of government bonds by certain city, BCGE has developed a partnership with the central banks. In this way, numerous powers of Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA), intensified decision are, for any number of good reasons, its work with international trading companies, and restricted or even removed entirely. helped to strengthen the links between Geneva and the Rhône-Alpes and Ile-de-France regions beyond The responsibilities that went hand in hand with its borders, thanks to the subsidiary it created for these eroded powers, have, however, remained this purpose in 1993. entirely on management’s shoulders. The overall weight of regulation will become even heavier In 2019, the Bank continued to integrate the in 2020. growing regulatory burden, while managing costs and buttressing its organisational structure, in The banks, in their social role as a financial driving particular by broadening its executive management. force, will have to try even harder to simplify the Every year, with characteristic agility, the Bank lives of tradespeople and the liberal professions. refines and calibrates its strategic plan, adjusts its They will do this, in particular, by extending their procedures in response to changing conditions, with range of services and by speeding up operations by preventative measures and management action means of digitalisation. The regulators should take focused on potential risks. It works with the care not to disturb this commitment to the economy radically changing expectations of its clients, by imposing excessive red tape. particularly in terms of digitalising its services. Never losing sight of its mission, BCGE continues to invest in the provision of a personal and localised service. In order to maintain a dense and well- served network of branches and ATMs, BCGE is upgrading its outlets, rethinking their role and adapting them to make life simpler for its clients and to maintain regular, high-quality interaction with these.
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