Page 12 - Maerki Baumann & Co. AG | Annual Report 2021

year came in the form of the first-ever issuance of a bor- rower rating indicating very good quality, namely “A-”. In addition, the business magazine “Bilanz” once again crowned us the best Swiss private bank, while Germa- ny’s “Elite Report” awarded us the “summa cum laude” seal of quality for the 14th time in a row. Back in 2018 we became one of the first Swiss private banks to develop our own crypto strategy. Interested clients can now use Maerki Baumann to trade the most common cryptocurrencies around the clock, have these cryptocurrencies held in safe custody, obtain advisory services that extend to digital assets as well as tradi- tional asset categories, and have a diversified crypto portfolio managed on their behalf. The “Cryptocurren- cies” focus module is now integrated into our innova- tive modular investment platform. We also managed to carve out a lucrative market niche in our offering for business clients who wish to make the most of block- chain technology and crypto applications. Business performance of Maerki Baumann Maerki Baumann achieved an excellent annual result for the 2021 financial year, with gross profit of CHF 9.06 million and net profit of CHF 7.72 million. This strong result is down to successful business activity, signifi- cant organic growth in all business areas, and gratify- ing performance. At CHF 3.53 million (+3%), the result from the inter- est business was more or less in line with that of the previous year, despite the persistently low level of interest rates and the negative interest environment. Another driver of the positive result was the targeted management of our balance sheet structure. At CHF 34.11 million, the result from the commission and ser- vices business surpassed the prior-year level by a very substantial CHF 6.23 million (+22%). The strong growth in the assets of our clients over the course of the finan- cial year led to a significant rise in asset-dependent fees. We were also able to increase turnover-dependent income. As a result of higher securities turnover and the growing corporate client business, including the asso- ciated foreign exchange income, net trading income of CHF 3.38 million once again significantly surpassed the prior-year level (+53%). At CHF 1.66 million, other ordi- nary income was virtually unchanged on the previous year, in line with expectations. Headcount adjusted for part-time employees increased from 66 to 73 persons during the reporting year, which is attributable to the rise in business volumes. The addi- tional staff and higher performance-related compensa- tion were in turn the drivers of the CHF 2.84 million rise in personnel expenses (+14%). The increase in gen- eral administrative expenses by CHF 0.62 million to CHF 10.33 million (+6%) can be considered moderate, 12 Maerki Baumann & Co. AG