15.05.2007Berenberg Bank continues successful growth path

2006:      

• Assets under management: + 24% to 15.4 billion euros
• Total assets: + 19% to 2.7 billion euros
• Net profit: + 8% to 53.5 million euros
• Branch offices opened in Stuttgart and Wiesbaden
• Market tests certify top quality in Private Banking and Research

2007:      

• Further growth planned
• Assets under management up to 16.8 billion euros per 30 April 

Hamburg. Hamburg-based Berenberg Bank managed to successfully continue its growth strategy in its 417th business year. Now it is represented at eight sites in Germany as well as in six European metropolis and in Shanghai. Being a private bank with high demands to its services, the focus is also directed to striving for qualitative market leadership apart from quantitative growth. „As the individual and personal care of our clients is the centre of our corporate philosophy, we also restocked the number of our employees by over 100 to 658,“ Claus-G. Budelmann, personally liable partner, said.

At the beginning of 2007,  the three managing directors Andreas Brodtmann (43), Graeme Davies (41) and Hendrik Riehmer (38) were included in the board of partners. With this step the bank allows for the growth of the last few years and the further growth to be expected. Another 100 new jobs are planned in 2007.

Germany’s oldest bank is active in four business fields, which contributed in 2006 a more or less equal amount to the company result:

• Private Banking
• Investment Banking
• Institutional Asset Management
• Corporate Banking.

The net profit rose by 8% to 53.5 million euros (49.7m the year before), the return on equity before taxes is 52.5%  (49.8%). The result includes special earnings from the sale of a participation, mainly used for building tax paid reserves.

The cost-income ratio increased from 55.0% to 65.3% owing to investments to further expand the business.

The net commission income, mainly due to the securities business, grew by another 5% to 122.2 million euros (116.8m in the year before) from an already high level. In addition, the business in this area was put on a broader basis by increasing the number of clients.

The net interest income was up 3% to 31.8 million euros (31.0m in the year before). By now, the deposit business makes higher contributions to the result than the credit business. Proprietary trading, having a lower value-at-risk limit, made a pleasant contribution. On top, it was also possible to markedly improve the risk result closing with a slightly positive balance.

The ratio of net commission and net interest income is unchanged at 79:21.

Total assets  increased by 18.5% to 2.72 billion euros (2.29 in the year before) mainly due to high liquidity holdings of the expanded securities and ship financing business, the extended business volume rose from 2.41 to 2.86 billion euros (+ 18.5%).

The liable capital of the bank was raised by 5 million to 145 million euros.

As in the year before, reserves for the subsidiaries were built in 2006. Moreover, tax paid provisioning reserves pursuant to § 340 f HGB were raised once again.

The number of employees in financial year 2006 grew from 551 to 658. As a result of investments in the further growth of the bank (setting-up new sites, recruiting new employees, securing the high quality level also in the administrative division owing to the increased business volume) administrative costs rose from 86.7 to 104.3 million euros (+ 21%.).

Expanding the business with existing clients is particularly pleasing, but also the high number of new clients contributed to the increase of assets under management which was up 24% to 15.4 billion euros (12.5bn in the year before.).

Private Banking

In establishing the branch offices in Stuttgart and Wiesbaden in 2006 our expansion of the presence in Germany is successfully concluded for now. These branch offices and the others in Bielefeld, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich noticeably enhanced the awareness level. At present, the bank has employed as many consultants in its branch offices as in the headquarters in Hamburg.

In the field of publicly offered funds, Berenberg Bank is the sole issuer of a fund investing in the Baltic States and the Ukraine, exemplary of the innovative ability of our house.

The quality of the asset management services of Berenberg Bank was once again highlighted by the two major surveys on Private Banking in the German-speaking region: The report

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