Foreword by Eric Charpentier, President of the Board of Directors
In a changed environment of inflation, rising interest rates and a historically strong Swiss franc, Bank CIC (Switzerland) Ltd. has managed to adapt and rise to the challenging new conditions. 2023 was an unprecedented year of transition for Bank CIC. This is apparent from the deep transformation we have undergone and the promising prospects for development and growth. In February 2023 Livia Moretti was appointed CEO. Her appointment reflected the ambitious shared objective of making Bank CIC into the benchmark bank for companies, large private clients and Swiss entrepreneurs, along with the European clients of our parent company Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale. The new leadership team is supported by a reinforced Board of Directors of ten members and a freshly appointed Management Board.
Bank CIC is focused on ambitious goals in and for Switzerland.
We can rely on solid foundations to achieve this goal. The expertise of our staff, our ability to innovate and the financial support of Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, one of the best capitalised banking groups in Europe, mean we are ideally placed to capture synergies and expand our activities nationally. The process for making decisions is focused on Switzerland and takes local characteristics into account so as to provide the best support and assistance to the Swiss economy.
Our strategy and development objectives revolve around our resolute commitment to three values we share with Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale: collective, effective, supportive.
Collective. The objectives for Bank CIC over the next four years are fully in line with the 2024-2027 strategic plan of Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale.
Our proximity to clients and the Swiss economy is one the keys to success. To support our development and achieve our objectives, we have secured a capital increase. As a result, we are now in a position to intensify the expansion of our banking activities and forge ahead in new dimensions in our various markets. Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale will also provide all the operating resources needed to support our growth.
Effective. As the preferred banking partner for companies, large private clients and entrepreneurs, we have managed to turn the current environment to our advantage despite its macroeconomic complexity. In 2023 we reported our highest net profit ever. Our figures reflect the focused way we target clients and exploit synergies with our parent company, while allowing for the special features of the Swiss market. Our ultimate aim is to become the benchmark in the Swiss banking sector.
Supportive. In this uncertain environment, Bank CIC is standing by its 31,953 private and corporate clients to accompany and assist them as they put their plans into action. Our 457 employees are at the service of existing and potential clients. We are aware of our social responsibility and set great store by playing our part in supporting community life in Switzerland and engaging in philanthropic activities.
I would like to thank all our employees for their ongoing dedication to satisfying our clients. 2024 marks the start of a new chapter for Bank CIC. As the preferred banking partner for companies, large private clients and entrepreneurs we will continue, and even step up, our role as the motor driving the growth of the economy.
Foreword by Livia Moretti, CEO
It is a great pleasure to report to you on the substantial progress we made in the year under review today, a year after I was appointed CEO of Bank CIC (Switzerland) Ltd. The bank reached a major milestone in 2023. We continued to develop robustly and innovate and remained true to our roots. We strengthened our offering, which is unique in the market, and increased the value we add to the Swiss ecosystem.
Bank CIC (Switzerland) Ltd. was founded in 1871 by Basel businessmen to provide a solution to the financial challenges that industrial growth was facing at the time. Over the course of its history, the bank first operated as CIAL (Crédit Industriel d'Alsace et Lorraine) and then took on the name we know today: CIC (Crédit Industriel et Commercial). This highlights the fact that the entrepreneurial spirit has been part of our DNA for over 150 years and continues to shape our philosophy.
In 2023 we positioned ourselves more clearly than ever as a Swiss bank serving the Swiss economy: we make our decisions locally, close to the country’s industrial fabric and the operators we finance and support.
The key to any company’s long-term success lies in the ability to make its activities purposeful.
A process of purposeful change
Since I started this job, we have made considerable efforts in many areas to rethink and optimise the way we are organised. I am convinced that the key to any company’s long-term success lies in the ability to make its activities purposeful.
In November 2023 Bank CIC (Switzerland) Ltd. put forward its new strategy. A whole series of projects has already been completed. For others, we have laid firm foundations for the future.
Under the strategic plan 2024-2027, Bank CIC (Switzerland) Ltd. offers full-service customised financing, investment and savings solutions to its target customer base: small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), entrepreneurs and wealthy private clients. We can exploit the synergies with our owner, the Crédit Mutuel Group, to provide all the services our demanding clients expect. This also ensures our decision-making process is based in Switzerland and takes account of specific local features so we can support the Swiss economy and promote sustainable development in Switzerland.
A record result
With a record net profit of CHF 40.7 million in the year to 31 December 2023 (a 55.7% increase on the previous year), Bank CIC (Switzerland) Ltd. is positioned as a reliable and solid Swiss banking partner.
The bank benefited from favourable interest rate conditions, excellent cost and risk management and high-quality client service.
Thanks to the unconditional support of our sole parent company, we also consolidated our capital structure and liquidity. Our parent company supports the further development of its Swiss subsidiary without reserve and is providing the financial support to achieve its ambitious objectives.
On 23 November 2023, the relevant decision-making bodies of the shareholder of Bank CIC (Switzerland) Ltd. agreed to a capital increase of CHF 300 million. This will be provided in the course of 2024. The capital increase will give the bank the funds needed for the intended growth in the financing sector and assist in developing the economy of our country.
Solid management
The new appointments to our Management Board in 2023 and the strong commitment demonstrated by all its members have allowed us to make considerable progress. Boasting a diverse range of complementary backgrounds, the new team provides balanced representation of all specialist areas. At the same time it embodies the diversity of our country, as well as Bank CIC's diversity and international experience.
Outlook
The period from 2024 to 2027 marks a milestone in the development of Bank CIC (Switzerland) Ltd.
With branches in Basel, Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchâtel, Fribourg, Sion and Lugano, Bank CIC (Switzerland) Ltd. serves the Swiss economy with the support of its parent group by providing its range of products and services to SMEs, wealthy private clients and entrepreneurs – from wealth management to commercial and mortgage loans, factoring and corporate finance.
Thanks to our long history, expertise, product range and unique structure, in a challenging market we hold a strong position that sets us apart from the competition.
But despite our optimism and consistent strategic focus on the future, we cannot afford to ignore the complexity and uncertainty of the macroeconomic and geopolitical background.
Bank CIC (Switzerland) Ltd. will overcome this uncertain environment together with its clients. The start of 2024 brought tensions in various places around the world, and the year will also see important elections in both the USA and Europe. There is a threat, too, that the world economy will slow. Locally, the strength of the Swiss franc is hurting our clients’ exports. Forecasting future moves in interest rates, which contributed to the bank's record profits in 2023, remains difficult.
We nevertheless remain confident in our mission to serve the Swiss economy. One clear sign of this is the investment we are making in our employees and in rolling out an ambitious hiring plan at all our branches.
I would like to thank our clients and partners warmly for the trust and loyalty they have shown us, and our Board of Directors for its unreserved support throughout this entire process of transformation.
Special thanks must go to our employees, who lived out our motto “collective, effective, supportive” all through the year, and in doing so contributed to achieving our goals.
