Swiss private banking group BSI said its net profits in the first half of 2008 dropped by 1.6 per cent to SFr104.2 million ($93.84 million) from the same period a year ago, due to the impact of integrating  Banca del Gottardo which it acquired in July this year.

The bank said the integration of Banca del Gottardo implied higher revenues up 40 per cent to SFr513.7 million compared with the first-half 2007 figure for the BSI Group, but costs surged by 66.5 per cent to SFr361.0 million, largely because of the costs of the integration process.

Private banking inflows stood at SFr4.3 billion, the firm said. Total assets under management rose to SFr94.8 billion from SFr62.6 billion at 31 December 2007.

Costs incurred by Banca del Gottardo integration more than offset its disposal of its stake in Lombard Bank of Malta and sale of real estate assets.

“The results for the first half of 2008 – achieved despite the tough market conditions – show that the efforts made to integrate Banca del Gottardo, a process completed on 1 July, have borne fruit, and at the same time rewarded the loyalty of the shareholder, who has entrusted BSI with a mission to achieve growth both on the Swiss market and internationally,” said Alfredo Gysi, chief executive of BSI.

BSI was founded in Lugano, Switzerland, in 1873, and is the oldest bank in the canton of Ticino. Since 1998 it has been 100 per cent-controlled by the Generali Insurance Group. BSI Group specialises in asset management and related services for private and institutional clients and is present in the major financial markets worldwide.