Geneva-based Banque SCS Alliance said it managed to achieve a gross profit of SFr6 million ($4.8 million) in 2004, compared with a loss of S...

Geneva-based Banque SCS Alliance said it managed to achieve a gross profit of SFr6 million ($4.8 million) in 2004, compared with a loss of SFr7.2 million the year before. The bank said the performance was based on an 11 per cent rise in revenues to SFr38.4 million, against a fall in costs of 22 per cent. Assets under management fell 7 per cent last year to SFr2.7 billion, which was mainly due to the sale of the bank’s French portfolio management unit. But SCS managed to increase assets under discretionary management by 20 per cent. The bank has been subject to a number of investigations, including one involving Martin Frankel, a former client now serving a 16-year prison sentence in the US for stealing $200 million from insurance companies. Liquidators are suing the bank and former bank official Jean-Marie Wery for helping Mr Frankel to defraud the companies and launder the proceeds. Mr Wery recently pleaded guilty and was also jailed. Last October, a US court threw out the case, ruling that US law did not apply, but the liquidators have appealed. The bank denies any liability. SCS is also involved in a case involving an independent fund manager (his name has not been disclosed to the public) with Lafargue SA, who opened sub-accounts for each of his customers with the bank and then misappropriated a customer's assets. The fund manager was tried and sentenced, but the customer sued the bank in April 2002. Again, SCS denies any liability.