Although the bank spent on new staff and digital changes, its cost-income ratio fell due to higher earnings and efficiency gains, it said.

Liechtensteinische Landesbank yesterday reported that it logged a 10.5 per cent rise in operating income for the first half of this year, reaching SFr267.2 million ($302.8 million), benefiting from rising interest rates.

Trading income rose by 55.1 per cent to SFr82.5 million. 

At the end of June, LLB's total assets under management stood at SFr87.4 billion, rising 4.2 per cent from the end of December, 2022. 

“Thanks to the turnaround with interest rates, the market environment has significantly improved. This generates additional momentum for us," group chief financial officer Christoph Reich, said.

On the negative side, however, net fee and commission income fell by 13.3 per cent to SFr97.7 million, mainly dragged down by lower average volume of portfolios, lower trading activity and a drop in earnings from real estate business in Austria.

At SFr164.3 million, as expected, operating costs in the first half year of 2023 rose 6.3 per cent higher from a year earlier. This was mainly driven by personnel costs because LLB Group created more than a hundred jobs in the reporting period, mainly linked to digital transformation work. 

Although costs rose, the cost/income ratio narrowed to 61.0 per cent as earnings and efficiency improved, LLB said, down from 62.8 per cent a year before.

During May LLB said that Bank Linth, which it took over in January, became fully under the LLB business brand as the group raises its Swiss business profile. It has opened new offices in Zurich and St Gallen. 

LLB Group is also planning to open three new business locations in Germany: Frankfurt, Dusseldorf and Munich.