The establishments have granted some 26,500 loans to companies in need of liquidity due to the interruption of their activity.
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The 24 Swiss cantonal banks have so far granted 3.3 billion francs in emergency loans to companies affected by the virtual downturn caused by the coronavirus. The establishments say they are well equipped to face the crisis, after a solid year.
The cantonal banks have granted some 26,500 credits to companies in need of liquidity because faced with the interruption of their activity, said the Union of Swiss Cantonal Banks in a statement on Wednesday.
In 2019, all cantonal establishments saw their cumulative profits increase by 1.1% to 3.1 billion francs, while the balance sheet total increased by 4.3% to 647.3 billion.
In their main interest operations activity, they recorded profit growth of 3.7% and 9.3% in trading activities. However, the gross interest margin contracted by 0.1% as a result of persistent low rates and the net result from interest activities amounted to 5.6 billion francs, down 0.4% compared to 2018.
Mortgage business has grown. The cantonal establishments granted 452.5 billion francs (+ 4.2%) of loans, the major part of which – or 403.1 billion (+ 4.2%) – are mortgage loans.
In a context marked by uncertainty, they display solid capitalization with an equity ratio of 18.8% and leverage of 8.1%.
The cantons were the main beneficiaries of this performance. They collectively collected 1.8 billion francs in the form of dividends, compensation and other taxes.
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