Underlining that the Thurgau Raiffeisen banks are very well capitalized and safe: Fredy Hasenmaile, chief economist at Raiffeisen Switzerland and the Thurgau association president Reto Inauen. Image: zVg
09.02.2024 13:00
Together, the 14 Thurgau Raiffeisen banks achieved business success of 96.5 million francs last year. In doing so, they strengthen their equity again. At the annual media conference, Raiffeisen chief economist Fredy Hasenmaile also highlighted an interesting price development on the Thurgau real estate market.
Thurgau The equity ratio of the Thurgau Raiffeisen banks is almost 24 percent. “This is a top value in the Swiss banking sector,” emphasized Reto Inauen. The association president presented the consolidated business results of the 14 Thurgau Raiffeisen banks on Thursday morning, February 8, 2024 in Frauenfeld. “Thanks to our capital strength, we can offer our customers and members a high level of security, especially given the difficult economic and geopolitical situation,” added Inauen. The business success of 96.5 million francs – an increase of 14 percent compared to the previous year – flows almost entirely into equity, which is now over 1.5 billion francs.
Savings interest increased immediately
Among the consistently positive figures, the interest income stands out, which rose by almost 16 percent to 168.8 million francs. The reason for this is the interest rate change by the Swiss National Bank (SNB), said Reto Inauen. He emphasized that the Thurgau Raiffeisen banks very quickly increased customer savings interest rates with every interest rate move by the SNB. In addition, the success from the commission and service business grew by over seven percent to almost 30 million francs. At the same time, the Raiffeisen banks made extensive investments in additional employees, training and infrastructure. In doing so, they pushed forward the strategy to further strengthen themselves as a universal bank. “This also means that, on the one hand, we are strengthening personal advisory skills on site and, on the other hand, we are further expanding the digital offering,” explained Reto Inauen.
Grown by 1500 members
The Thurgau Raiffeisen banks were able to increase both in mortgages (plus 3.8 percent) and in customer deposits (plus 0.8 percent). Reto Inauen attributes the somewhat lower growth in customer deposits to the change in interest rates: Due to the rise in interest rates, many homeowners have paid off part of their mortgage. In addition, many customers invested in securities, which is confirmed by the 11.6 percent increase in portfolio volume. In general, he feels that the people of Thurgau have a lot of trust in the Raiffeisen banks. This is demonstrated not least by the increase of 1,500 members last year. The Thurgau Raiffeisen family now includes over 116,660 members, most of whom have benefited from free account management, attractive savings interest rates and other member benefits for years. The Raiffeisen cooperatives also make an important contribution to society in other ways: in view of the positive business transaction, they pay more than eleven million francs in taxes and support various cultural, social and sporting commitments.
Thurgau is less affected by the rise in interest rates
Fredy Hasenmaile, chief economist at Raiffeisen Switzerland, took a look at the economic situation in Switzerland and Thurgau: The economy is running at two speeds, he emphasized. “Due to the global economic downturn, business in the industry has deteriorated significantly. Companies are reporting ongoing lower capacity utilization due to weak foreign demand.” The service sector is moving at a little more speed and is currently picking up slightly despite stagnating real wages. This applies to Switzerland and Thurgau. When it comes to the real estate market, Hasenmaile notes a special development in Thurgau: Price growth across Switzerland has more than halved due to reduced demand since the interest rate turnaround. In contrast, there were only a few signs of higher interest rates in the price development in the canton of Thurgau. This is despite the fact that demand for residential property has fallen to a level slightly below pre-Corona levels and significantly more properties are being advertised for sale. “The canton benefits from households that move from the surrounding centers to regions with even more affordable real estate,” concluded Hasenmaile.
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2024-02-09 12:48:20
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