Interest bounty underpins BCEE banking income
The BCEE, one of Luxembourg’s main domestic banks and commonly known as the Spuerkees, credited rising interest rates as playing a key role in increasing its increased banking income portion of its overall annual report for the year ending in 2022 through over 20% increase to its interest margin. According to a bank press release, this was also due to an increase in lending activities.
Graph of the week: energy label
No this column is not about sustainability, climate targets or Co2 emissions. But about the fable that energy companies are a reason why broad market profits need not fall.
Energy profits
Earnings-per-share of US energy companies included in the S&P 500 Index are up more than 250% from a year ago. But this does not disguise a fall in profits of the rest of the companies.
McKinsey: private bank profitability declines again
Private banks in Europe saw their profits decline in 2019, for the second year in a row, according to a study by McKinsey. Profitability is under pressure due to a combination of rising costs and lack of client growth.
According to the management consultancy, the study shows that private banks in Europe are confronted with structurally weak profit dynamics, growing dissatisfaction among clients and significant operational problems due to working from home.
Brexit cost hikes dent Luxembourg bank profits
Luxembourg’s banks are not yet reaping the benefits of Brexit as Brexit-related additional costs are outstripping the rise in revenues. This has led to a year-on-year decline of 5.4% in banks’ profits in the third quarter of 2019, according to CSSF figures.