By Elena Vardon
EFG International expects to keep growing on an organic and inorganic basis in the next three years and build on the positive momentum of its previous plan.
The Swiss private bank, which competes with Julius Baer and Vontobel, on Tuesday laid out a new midterm plan under which it aims to grow its net profit by around 15% annually in the period to 2028.
"Key areas of focus will be commercial excellence, investing in digital solutions to "augment" EFG's [client relationship officers] and enhancing the client experience and brand visibility," it said.
The group kept its 4% to 6% net new asset growth target for the 2026 to 2028 period and expects to reach a return on tangible equity--a key measure of profitability--of 20%, up from its 15% to 18% targeted range in the previous cycle.
EFG will invest to upgrade its product offering and roll out new solutions for its clients as part of the new strategy and hopes to accelerate the delivery of the plan with small acquisitions. "We continue to look for new opportunities to further build scale through targeted M&A in markets where we already operate," Chief Executive Giorgio Pradelli said.
The bank targets between 70 million and 80 million Swiss francs ($86.6 million-$99 million) in cost savings by 2028 compared with 2025 through investments in technology. It guided for a cost-to-income ratio of 68% for the three-year period, against 69% in the previous cycle.
In terms of shareholder returns, EFG is raising its dividend payout guidance to 60% of net profit from 50% previously and will consider extra capital distributions if its capital ratio exceeds 15%, depending on market conditions, M&A opportunities and regulatory developments.
The group separately reported that its assets under management stood at around 183.7 billion Swiss francs at the end of October, up from 162.3 billion francs at the end of June, thanks to the consolidation of Cite Gestion and New Zealand's Investment Services Group--two companies it bought earlier this year--as well as a favorable market performance and 9.3 billion francs in inflows of client money. This made up for the strength of the Swiss franc against the weakened U.S. dollar in the first part of the year.
The Zurich-based lender, whose largest shareholder is the Greek shipping billionaire family Latsis, reported around 320 million francs in net profit for first 10 months of 2025, up from more than 260 million francs a year prior.
"We are entering the new 2026-28 strategic cycle from a position of strength," Pradelli said.
Write to Elena Vardon at elena.vardon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 25, 2025 02:11 ET (07:11 GMT)
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