Swissquote Profits Down YoY, Client Numbers Increasing
Tuesday,06/11/2012|15:08GMTby
Adil Siddiqui
Developments witnessed by Swissquote in the 3rd quarter of 2012 were similar to those seen in the two preceding quarters: increase in the number of accounts and net new monies, stagnation of revenues and profit. Swissquote's performance thus continues to reflect the pronounced investor uncertainty. Year-on-year, revenues decreased 14.9 percent and net profit 30.5 percent. For 2012 as a whole, Swissquote expects revenues of about CHF 112 million (USD 118.7 million).
Interest business still growing
The development of Swissquote's revenues in the first nine months of 2012 mirrors the situation on the global capital and currency markets and above all the uncertainty and reticence that this has caused among investors. The modest mid-year glimmer of hope of an imminent end to the euro crisis unfortunately failed to materialize. Both fee and commission business and trading operations had an adverse impact on total net revenues. Only the interest business, which is a significantly smaller part of net revenues, made positive progress. At CHF 85.3 million (CHF 100.2 million), total net revenues in the first nine months of 2012 were 14.9 percent lower than in the first nine months of 2011.
As a consequence of a significant fall-off in trading activity to only 11.4 transactions per client/year (16.5 transactions), net fee and commission income declined by 22.8 percent to CHF 38.8 million (CHF 50.2 million). Because of the low Volatility on the foreign exchange markets, trading and other results (eForex) declined by 12.9 percent to CHF 33.4 million (CHF 38.4 million). The eForex trading volume decreased by 16.5 percent to CHF 261.9 billion (CHF 313.6 billion). Although interest business was still not easy in light of the currency situation and the cautious investment strategy pursued by Swissquote Oust under 60 percent of the balance sheet total of CHF 2.945 billion is deposited with the Swiss National Bank), revenues were 12.7 percent higher at CHF 13.1 million (CHF 11.6 million).
Solid profit situation despite decrease
The first nine months of 2012 saw operating expenses fall 5.3 percent year-on-year to CHF 63.0 million (CHF 66.6 million), but this was not sufficient to compensate for significantly weaker total net revenues.
The reduction in expenses breaks down as follows: a CHF 0.9 million decrease in personnel costs (in spite of a slight increase in headcount), a CHF 0.5 million decline in production costs and a CHF 2.2 million fall in marketing expenses. At CHF 22.3 million (CHF 33.7 million), operating profit was down 33.9 percent. Net profit was 30.5 percent lower at CHF 18.3 million (CHF 26.3 million). The operating profit margin reached 26.1 percent (33.6 percent), and the net profit margin stood at 21.4 percent (26.2 percent). Earnings per share amounted to CHF 1.26 (CHF 1.83). The balance sheet total grew by 13.1 percent to CHF 2.945 billion, and total equity was 6.1 percent higher at CHF 237.7 million (CHF 224.1 million). The core capital ratio (tier 1) was at 21.6 percent.
Further growth in client numbers and net new monies
As before, the decline in revenues and profit as a result of prevailing conditions contrasts with continuing growth in client numbers. The total number of accounts rose year-on-year by 9.2 percent to 201,357 in the first nine months of 2012. The breakdown is 159,803 trading accounts (+2.3 percent), 30,012 saving accounts (+74.8 percent), 10,779 eForex accounts (+3.0 percent), and 763 ePrivate Banking accounts (+23.9 percent). At CHF 8.571 billion (CHF 7.280 billion), assets under custody were 17.7 percent higher than in the first nine months of 2011. As at 30 September 2012, assets of CHF 7.946 billion were held in trading accounts, CHF 476.7 million in saving accounts, CHF 125.9 million in eForex accounts, and CHF 23.6 million in ePrivate Banking accounts. At CHF 805.3 million (CHF 799.3 million), net new monies in the first nine months of 2012 were 0.8 percent higher than in the first nine months of 2011.
The Swiss DOTS (Swiss Derivatives OTC Trading System) segment launched at the end of May 2012 by Swissquote in cooperation with Goldman Sachs and UBS is witnessing a continual increase in volumes.
7,600 transactions were executed in October alone, representing 15 percent of all transactions with leveraged products on Scoach. Given the successful start, the offering is to be expanded and the platform opened to further issuers and clients. This means that in future non-Swissquote clients will also be able to benefit from the Swiss DOTS offering. Today clients already have access to a range of more than 33,000 leveraged products on the Swissquote platform (Scoach: 23,000 leveraged products). The rapid development confirms not only that Swiss DOTS meets a genuine investor need but also that Switzerland is large enough to accommodate such an offering in addition to the Scoach products.
Swiss DOTS produces a significant additional volume for Swissquote without any reduction in the volume settled with Scoach.
Demand for online mortgages growing
For just over a year now, Swissquote has been offering online mortgages under a cooperative venture with Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank (BLKB). The demand for these products is rising continually.
The mortgage loan portfolio currently totals CHF 100 million. The two partners plan to expand existing services in order to accelerate growth.
Swissquote Europe opened in Malta
Inline with its cautious policy of expansion, in October Swissquote opened an office in Malta, its second location outside Switzerland. The Malta Financial Services Authorities (MFSA) have given Swissquote Europe a category 3 license, which, under the EU passporting rules, allows it to market its Forex services in all EU member states without restriction. Swissquote Europe has a team of five working in Malta; the operating business is handled by Swissquote Bank Ltd. in Switzerland. The two foreign locations in
Malta and Dubai (cat. 4 license) will enable Swissquote to rapidly establish a foothold in European markets as well as in the Middle East and Asia, and to generate revenues accordingly.
Developments witnessed by Swissquote in the 3rd quarter of 2012 were similar to those seen in the two preceding quarters: increase in the number of accounts and net new monies, stagnation of revenues and profit. Swissquote's performance thus continues to reflect the pronounced investor uncertainty. Year-on-year, revenues decreased 14.9 percent and net profit 30.5 percent. For 2012 as a whole, Swissquote expects revenues of about CHF 112 million (USD 118.7 million).
Interest business still growing
The development of Swissquote's revenues in the first nine months of 2012 mirrors the situation on the global capital and currency markets and above all the uncertainty and reticence that this has caused among investors. The modest mid-year glimmer of hope of an imminent end to the euro crisis unfortunately failed to materialize. Both fee and commission business and trading operations had an adverse impact on total net revenues. Only the interest business, which is a significantly smaller part of net revenues, made positive progress. At CHF 85.3 million (CHF 100.2 million), total net revenues in the first nine months of 2012 were 14.9 percent lower than in the first nine months of 2011.
As a consequence of a significant fall-off in trading activity to only 11.4 transactions per client/year (16.5 transactions), net fee and commission income declined by 22.8 percent to CHF 38.8 million (CHF 50.2 million). Because of the low Volatility on the foreign exchange markets, trading and other results (eForex) declined by 12.9 percent to CHF 33.4 million (CHF 38.4 million). The eForex trading volume decreased by 16.5 percent to CHF 261.9 billion (CHF 313.6 billion). Although interest business was still not easy in light of the currency situation and the cautious investment strategy pursued by Swissquote Oust under 60 percent of the balance sheet total of CHF 2.945 billion is deposited with the Swiss National Bank), revenues were 12.7 percent higher at CHF 13.1 million (CHF 11.6 million).
Solid profit situation despite decrease
The first nine months of 2012 saw operating expenses fall 5.3 percent year-on-year to CHF 63.0 million (CHF 66.6 million), but this was not sufficient to compensate for significantly weaker total net revenues.
The reduction in expenses breaks down as follows: a CHF 0.9 million decrease in personnel costs (in spite of a slight increase in headcount), a CHF 0.5 million decline in production costs and a CHF 2.2 million fall in marketing expenses. At CHF 22.3 million (CHF 33.7 million), operating profit was down 33.9 percent. Net profit was 30.5 percent lower at CHF 18.3 million (CHF 26.3 million). The operating profit margin reached 26.1 percent (33.6 percent), and the net profit margin stood at 21.4 percent (26.2 percent). Earnings per share amounted to CHF 1.26 (CHF 1.83). The balance sheet total grew by 13.1 percent to CHF 2.945 billion, and total equity was 6.1 percent higher at CHF 237.7 million (CHF 224.1 million). The core capital ratio (tier 1) was at 21.6 percent.
Further growth in client numbers and net new monies
As before, the decline in revenues and profit as a result of prevailing conditions contrasts with continuing growth in client numbers. The total number of accounts rose year-on-year by 9.2 percent to 201,357 in the first nine months of 2012. The breakdown is 159,803 trading accounts (+2.3 percent), 30,012 saving accounts (+74.8 percent), 10,779 eForex accounts (+3.0 percent), and 763 ePrivate Banking accounts (+23.9 percent). At CHF 8.571 billion (CHF 7.280 billion), assets under custody were 17.7 percent higher than in the first nine months of 2011. As at 30 September 2012, assets of CHF 7.946 billion were held in trading accounts, CHF 476.7 million in saving accounts, CHF 125.9 million in eForex accounts, and CHF 23.6 million in ePrivate Banking accounts. At CHF 805.3 million (CHF 799.3 million), net new monies in the first nine months of 2012 were 0.8 percent higher than in the first nine months of 2011.
The Swiss DOTS (Swiss Derivatives OTC Trading System) segment launched at the end of May 2012 by Swissquote in cooperation with Goldman Sachs and UBS is witnessing a continual increase in volumes.
7,600 transactions were executed in October alone, representing 15 percent of all transactions with leveraged products on Scoach. Given the successful start, the offering is to be expanded and the platform opened to further issuers and clients. This means that in future non-Swissquote clients will also be able to benefit from the Swiss DOTS offering. Today clients already have access to a range of more than 33,000 leveraged products on the Swissquote platform (Scoach: 23,000 leveraged products). The rapid development confirms not only that Swiss DOTS meets a genuine investor need but also that Switzerland is large enough to accommodate such an offering in addition to the Scoach products.
Swiss DOTS produces a significant additional volume for Swissquote without any reduction in the volume settled with Scoach.
Demand for online mortgages growing
For just over a year now, Swissquote has been offering online mortgages under a cooperative venture with Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank (BLKB). The demand for these products is rising continually.
The mortgage loan portfolio currently totals CHF 100 million. The two partners plan to expand existing services in order to accelerate growth.
Swissquote Europe opened in Malta
Inline with its cautious policy of expansion, in October Swissquote opened an office in Malta, its second location outside Switzerland. The Malta Financial Services Authorities (MFSA) have given Swissquote Europe a category 3 license, which, under the EU passporting rules, allows it to market its Forex services in all EU member states without restriction. Swissquote Europe has a team of five working in Malta; the operating business is handled by Swissquote Bank Ltd. in Switzerland. The two foreign locations in
Malta and Dubai (cat. 4 license) will enable Swissquote to rapidly establish a foothold in European markets as well as in the Middle East and Asia, and to generate revenues accordingly.
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Join seasoned marketing executives and specialists as they discuss the main challenges they identify in financial services in 2026 and how they address them.
Attendees of this session will walk away with:
- A nuts-and-bolts account of acquisition costs across platforms and geos
- Analysis of today’s multi-layered audience segments and differences in behaviour
- First-hand account of how global brokers balance consistency and local flavour
- Notes from the field about intelligently using AI and automation in marketing
Speakers:
-Yam Yehoshua, Editor-In-Chief at Finance Magnates
-Federico Paderni, Managing Director for Growth Markets in Europe at X
-Jo Benton, Chief Marketing Officer, Consulting | Fractional CMO
-Itai Levitan, Head of Strategy at investingLive
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#fmls #fmls25 #fmevents #FintechMarketing #AI #DigitalStrategy #Fintech #Innovation
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As brokers eye B2B business and compete with fintechs and crypto exchanges alike, marketers need to act wisely with often limited budgets. AI can offer scalable solutions, but only if used properly.
Join seasoned marketing executives and specialists as they discuss the main challenges they identify in financial services in 2026 and how they address them.
Attendees of this session will walk away with:
- A nuts-and-bolts account of acquisition costs across platforms and geos
- Analysis of today’s multi-layered audience segments and differences in behaviour
- First-hand account of how global brokers balance consistency and local flavour
- Notes from the field about intelligently using AI and automation in marketing
Speakers:
-Yam Yehoshua, Editor-In-Chief at Finance Magnates
-Federico Paderni, Managing Director for Growth Markets in Europe at X
-Jo Benton, Chief Marketing Officer, Consulting | Fractional CMO
-Itai Levitan, Head of Strategy at investingLive
-Roberto Napolitano, CMO at Innovate Finance
-Tony Cross, Director at Monk Communications
#fmls #fmls25 #fmevents #FintechMarketing #AI #DigitalStrategy #Fintech #Innovation
Connect with us at:
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-Buy vs. build: What do hybrid models look like, and why are industry graveyards filled with failed ‘killer apps’?
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Speakers:
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#fmls #fmls25 #fmevents #Brokers #Trading #Fintech #FintechInnovation #TradingTechnology #Innovation
Connect with us at:
🔗 LinkedIn: / financemagnates-events
👍 Facebook: / financemagnatesevents
📸 Instagram: / fmevents_official
🐦 Twitter: / f_m_events
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Much like their traders in the market, brokers must diversify to manage risk and stay resilient. But that can get costly, clunky, and lengthy.
This candid panel brings together builders across the trading infrastructure space to uncover the shifting dynamics behind tools, interfaces, and full-stack ambitions.
Attendees will hear:
-Why platform dependency has become one of the most overlooked risks in the trading business?
-Buy vs. build: What do hybrid models look like, and why are industry graveyards filled with failed ‘killer apps’?
-How AI is already changing execution, risk, and reporting—and what’s next?
-Which features, assets, and tools gain the most traction, and where brokers should look for tech-driven retention?
Speakers:
-Stephen Miles, Chief Revenue Officer at FYNXT
-John Morris, Co-Founder at FXBlue
-Matthew Smith, Group Chair & CEO at EC Markets
-Tom Higgins, Founder & CEO at Gold-i
-Gil Ben Hur, Founder at 5% Group
#fmls #fmls25 #fmevents #Brokers #Trading #Fintech #FintechInnovation #TradingTechnology #Innovation
Connect with us at:
🔗 LinkedIn: / financemagnates-events
👍 Facebook: / financemagnatesevents
📸 Instagram: / fmevents_official
🐦 Twitter: / f_m_events
🎥 TikTok: / fmevents_official
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Key Themes:
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#fmls #fmls25 #fmevents #Brokers #FinanceLeadership #Trading #Fintech #BrokerGrowth #FintechPartnerships #RegionalMarkets
Connect with us at:
🔗 LinkedIn: / financemagnates-events
👍 Facebook: / financemagnatesevents
📸 Instagram: / fmevents_official
🐦 Twitter: / f_m_events
🎥 TikTok: / fmevents_official
When acquisition costs rise and AI generated reviews are exactly as useful as they sound, performing and fair partners can make or break brokers.
This session looks at how these players are shaping access, trust and user engagement, and what the most effective partnership models look like in 2025.
Key Themes:
- Building trader communities through education and local expertise
- Aligning broker incentives with long-term regional strategies
- Regional regulation and the realities of compliant acquisition
- What’s next for performance-driven partnerships in online trading
Speakers:
-Adam Button, Chief Currency Analyst at investingLive
-Zander Van Der Merwe, Key Individual & Head of Sales at TD Markets
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-Paul Chalmers, CEO at UK Trading Academy
#fmls #fmls25 #fmevents #Brokers #FinanceLeadership #Trading #Fintech #BrokerGrowth #FintechPartnerships #RegionalMarkets
Connect with us at:
🔗 LinkedIn: / financemagnates-events
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🐦 Twitter: / f_m_events
🎥 TikTok: / fmevents_official
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#fmls #fmls25 #fmevents #Brokers #FinanceLeadership #Trading #Fintech #Innovation
Connect with us at:
🔗 LinkedIn: / financemagnates-events
👍 Facebook: / financemagnatesevents
📸 Instagram: / fmevents_official
🐦 Twitter: / f_m_events
🎥 TikTok: / fmevents_official
As the arms race to bundle investing, personal finance, and wallets under super apps grows fiercer, brokers are caught between a rock and a hard place.
This session explores unexpected ways for industry players to collaborate as consumer habits evolve, competitors eye the traffic, and regulation becomes more nuanced.
Speakers:
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-Slobodan Manojlović,Vice President | Lead Software Engineer at JP Morgan Chase & Co.
-Jordan Sinclair, President at Robinhood UK
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Gerald Perez, CEO at Interactive Brokers UK
#fmls #fmls25 #fmevents #Brokers #FinanceLeadership #Trading #Fintech #Innovation
Connect with us at:
🔗 LinkedIn: / financemagnates-events
👍 Facebook: / financemagnatesevents
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🐦 Twitter: / f_m_events
🎥 TikTok: / fmevents_official
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#fmls #fmls25 #fmevents #Brokers #FinanceLeadership #Trading #Fintech #RetailInvesting #UKFinance
Connect with us at:
🔗 LinkedIn: / financemagnates-events
👍 Facebook: / financemagnatesevents
📸 Instagram: / fmevents_official
🐦 Twitter: / f_m_events
🎥 TikTok: / fmevents_official
As the dire state of listing and investment in the UK goes from a financial services problem to a national challenge, the retail investing industry is taken to task.
Join a host of executives and experts for a candid conversation about the future of millions of Brits, as seen from a financial services standpoint:
-Are they happy with the Leeds Reform, in principle and in practice?
-Is it the government’s job to affect the ‘saver’ mentality? Is it doing well?
-What can brokers and fintechs do to spur UK investment?
-How can the FCA balance greater flexibility with consumer protection?
Speakers:
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-Nicola Higgs, Partner at Latham & Watkins
-Dan Lane, Investment Content Lead at Robinhood UK
-Jack Crone, PR & Public Affairs Lead at IG
-David Belle, Founder at Fink Money
#fmls #fmls25 #fmevents #Brokers #FinanceLeadership #Trading #Fintech #RetailInvesting #UKFinance
Connect with us at:
🔗 LinkedIn: / financemagnates-events
👍 Facebook: / financemagnatesevents
📸 Instagram: / fmevents_official
🐦 Twitter: / f_m_events
🎥 TikTok: / fmevents_official
