“The low-interest-rate environment and the bank’s voluntary cap on growth in mortgage lending continued to weigh on revenues, but earnings remained in line with previous years thanks to firm cost control,” BCV said. The bank’s cost-income ratio held steady at 61 per cent.

Profit on ordinary banking operations before one-off items and taxes stood at SFr185.2 million, a 6 per cent decline, the bank said in a statement.

Net interest income was SFr247.9 million, a 6 per cent drop year-on-year; net fee and commission income was flat, at SFr172.9 million, it said.

Extraordinary income stood at SFr10 million, reflecting a real-estate disposal in connection with the relocation of group subsidiary Piguet Galland & Cie’s activities to a single site in Geneva.

Group assets under management rose 3 per cent, or up SFr2.7 billion, to SFr84.4 billion. Net new funds amounted to SFr540 million for the period. This figure reflects onshore fund inflows of SFr1.1 billion and offshore fund outflows, as anticipated (–SFr560 million), it added.