apoBank expands operating income in H1 2018
Deutsche Apotheker- und Ärztebank (apoBank) generated stable net income of €31.4m in the first half of 2018 (30 June 2017: €30.9m). In a challenging environment, the bank succeeded in increasing its operating income. As a result of higher expenses as a result of IT migration and extensive reserve formation, the operating result before taxes amounted to €53.3m.
The growth among customers and members continued unabated. The number of customers increased to 448,300 (31 December 2017: 436,260), the number of members increased to 112,210 (31 December 2017: 111,494).
In the private and corporate customer business, apoBank continued to record pleasing new lending business in the first half of the year, with a total of €3.6bn, surpassing the very good level of the previous year. Customer loans increased to €33.4bn.
Despite a largely stagnating or declining global equity market, the deposit volume of private clients rose to €8.2bn in the fee-earning business. Asset management also continued the positive growth trend. With now around 8,700 clients, the managed volume reached €3.4bn. Nevertheless, commission income was influenced by the new MiFID II financial market guideline. Business with the institutional investors was gratifying. The demand for consulting services, such as, the development of individual investment strategies or portfolio management remains high. In addition, the number of funds under custody and the depository volume increased.
Ulrich Sommer, CEO of apoBank: “In strong competition, we have performed well in the market. Our efforts in business start-up financing and corporate banking are paying off. In addition, our customers increasingly rely on our advisory expertise in securities investment business. In the long term, I see further growth potential for apoBank as a broader position at the interface between the healthcare and financial markets. We want to leverage our unique know-how in these two markets and develop offerings that add value to customers and members beyond traditional banking.”
Despite the challenging environment, the Bank recorded slight growth in net interest income of 4.4% to €339.7m. Above all, this was due to volume expansion in the lending business and lower refinancing costs.
Net fee and commission income of €87.1m remained stable at the previous year’s level. Administrative expenses increased by 11.5% to €288.1m. Personnel expenses were at the previous year’s level at €130.1m. General and administrative expenses, including depreciation and amortization, rose sharply to €158.0m. Decisive for the increase were above all expenses for the IT migration.
