PostFinance generates CHF 130m profit

Swiss Post’s banking arm, PostFinance, generated a profit of CHF 130m in a “successful” Q1 2010. Customer assets increased by CHF 7bn to CHF 80bn, and the number of accounts went up by 39,000 to 3.9m.

In the first three months of the year, PostFinance created 133 full-time positions for qualified employees throughout Switzerland.

The generated a profit of CHF 130m represents an increase of CHF 44 m (+50%) compared with the previous year. The company said its encouraging result is due to two reasons in particular: “This year only minor write downs were made compared with the previous year. The higher average customer assets increased the interest income despite somewhat lower margins. Assets increased by CHF 7.1bn to 80.3bn. PostFinance views this increase as a vote of confidence in a period in which the question of the financial partner assumes a greater importance than before the financial crisis.”

PostFinance also saw an increase in the number of accounts: In the first three months of 2010 a total of 38,521 new accounts were opened. Of these, 24,303 are savings accounts (deposit accounts) and 14,218 are postal accounts (payment accounts). PostFinance currently manages over 3.9m accounts whose number has risen by 1.2m over the past six years. Of the new customer deposits amounting to CHF 7.1bn, CHF 3.9bn were placed in savings accounts, accounting for 55%.