Bank Degroof Petercam publishes its first annual financial report following the Degroof Petercam merger.
Growth in assets under management indicative of our ambitions.
Friday, June 17, 2016 — Bank Degroof Petercam publishes its first annual financial results since the merger of the two financial institutions, Bank Degroof and Petercam. On December 31, 2015 Bank Degroof Petercam had €50 billion under management, an increase of 7.4%, due to strong performance and inflows of new capital. Despite the prevalent difficult economic conditions, preliminary results for the group show an increase in consolidated net profit of €96 million*.
"Bank Degroof Petercam is proud to present stable operating profits for 2015, an exceptional year during which two prominent financial entities merged. We want to assert our ambitions to further strengthen our group in the coming years as a leading independent financial institution with a Belgian decision center. Our family shareholders ensure our long-term vision with a focus on the Benelux region, as well as elsewhere in Europe. We are a medium-sized bank with a strong commitment to quality and expertise, and provide a complementary range of financial services to our clients," says Philippe Masset, CEO Bank Degroof Petercam.
Stable operating profit driven by increased revenue
"On December 31, 2015 the newly established group entity Bank Degroof Petercam managed €50 billion in assets, due to strong performance and inflows of new capital, primarily from our private banking clients. Managed wealth through private banking channels increased by 9.1%, the assets held under management for institutional clients rose by 2.9% and the volume of third party undertakings for collective investment holders increased by 3.7% "says Xavier Van Campenhout, Deputy CEO and Head of Private Banking.
"Revenues increased in 2015 to 492 million euros from 488 million euros in 2014. This growth reflects the underlying contribution of the assets and the high activity level of corporate finance and credit and structured finance. However, this increase was partially offset by the pressure on interest margins due to the very low interest rates." said Nathalie Basyn, CFO of Bank Degroof Petercam.
Excluding exceptional and one-off costs, mainly related to the partial demerger of the long-term equity portfolio and to the merger integration costs, the Bank realized a stable gross operating income of 125 million euros. The result was due to the continuing growth in revenue, whilst keeping operating expenses under control. Net profit after tax and non-recurring and extraordinary events amounted to 96 million euros for 2015.
"Despite the turbulent markets, our bank achieved an increase in the volume of financial assets under management across all our business areas. The increase in company revenues ensure a stable and sustained profitability, despite the extraordinary costs associated with the merger. " says Philippe Masset.
Solvency strengthened further
The CET1-equity increased to 468 million euros and CET1 core capital ratio to 16.1%, demonstrating the solidity of our balance sheet. The results of the Asset Quality Review (AQR), published by the European Central Bank largely exceeded the requirements imposed on the sector, and confirmed once again the quality of our assets and our resilience under extreme market conditions.
Outstanding loans granted by Bank Degroof Petercam stood at EUR 1.7 billion on December 31, 2015, relative to a balance sheet total s of 7.9 billion euros and cash deposits of 6.4 billion euros.
What does the future hold?
“We expect the volatile financial climate to continue during 2016. Despite the historically low interest rates, strong expansionary monetary policy by the central banks and low energy prices the economic activity and inflation levels will remain ver subdued. The economic and financial environment will remain challenging in the future.
Against this backdrop, we will continue to fully support our teams and invest in our expertise and group. We wish to continue to provide added value for our clients in the long term, and offer top quality services, which is the cornerstone of our mission." said Xavier Van Campenhout.
