During the next few weeks many of Switzerland’s big private banks will be releasing their results for the first half of 2005. These are like...

During the next few weeks many of Switzerland’s big private banks will be releasing their results for the first half of 2005. These are likely to show varying degrees of profit growth and support burgeoning trends like the move away from offshore private banking as a centre of profit growth. Last week Geneva-based Union Bancaire Privée reported a 5 per cent year-on-year gross profit rise in the first half — not anything to get too excited by, but will the other banks report more impressive results? If Lugano-based BSI is anything to go by, then the answer is an overriding yes. The bank reported a 44.2 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit for the first half, although its asset gathering efforts were not quite as strong as those achieved by UBP (see today’s article: Lugano Bank Swims in Impressive Growth. Later this week Credit Suisse unveils its first half results. Will the “One Bank” strategy begin to show results, or will its results continue to be in the shadow of UBS, which reports the following week? Look out for any change in strategy, for example, more of a commitment to onshore wealth management in Europe to compete against its great rival. Few analysts are likely to be predicting anything but a sterling performance from UBS, but is it continuing to gather assets at such a rip-roaring rate? And look closely at the bank’s cost structure — it has paid a lot for its, albeit increasingly successful, onshore wealth management strategy. And are problems brewing in the US for one of Europe’s biggest financial services success stories? Then we have the results of the three mid-tier institutions: Bank Sarasin, Vontobel and Julius Baer. In Swiss banking this is where the real excitement is in terms of overall change of strategy, alliances and senior personnel moves, or at least this has been the case in the past. Can we expect more thrills? Julius Baer releases its results on August 12. The last six months has been an exciting time at the bank with the introduction of a single share structure and a new chief executive appointed. But will the bank’s first half results confirm the squeeze on private banking and an increasing move towards institutional business? Are further senior job changes going to be announced? Bank Sarasin reports on August 23. Speculation about a possible merger at Sarasin, or being acquired, has been doing the rounds of the Swiss media in recent months. So Sarasin will be hoping to quash these rumours with a strong set of results. And what about Vontobel, which is the last of the mid-tier Swiss private banks to report, releasing its results on August 25? Further cooperation with the Raiffeisen Group could be announced, but the more likely trend is the growing importance of the bank’s institutional business as offshore banking is increasingly squeezed.