Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) has joined the Swiss Structured Products Association (SSPA) as an active member and new buyside representative, extending buyside membership of the trade body to eight. 'Structured products can provide added value and generate yield in a challenging environment and, as a Swiss private bank, we want to actively contribute to the good market framework and to the successful development of the industry in the future,' said Giuseppe Caltabiano, global head of structured products at UBP, in a statement.
As well as bumping up buyside membership, the addition of UBP to the association also extends its presence in French-speaking Switzerland, according to Georg von Wattenwyl (pictured), president of the SSPA. In February, Picard Angst, an independent solution provider for structured products, asset management and commodities, joined the association as a buyside member, while in January, law firm Baker McKenzie and Indosuez Wealth Management became a member.
The Zurich-based SSPA was established on April 4, 2006 to represent the shared interests of issuers of structured products, with the 33 active members accounting for 95% of Switzerland's structured products market. Each member nominates two delegates who as a body appoint from its ranks the association's five-strong committee.
UBP reported net profits at the end of June 2017 of CHF109.5m (€96.1m), up 21.6% from CHF89.9m a year earlier, while assets under management remained stable at CHF118.9bn in the first half of this year, little changed from the CHF118.3bn at the end of 2016. The strong performance of those assets, underpinned by favourable market conditions, made up for the negative effects of exchange rates during the first half of the year (minus CHF3.3bn), according to the bank.
Assets included the positive replacement values of derivative financial instruments, which stood at CHF337,430 at June 30, 2017 (December 31: CHF472,798), while negative replacement values of derivatives financial instruments, at CHF380,756 (December 31: CHF246,171) made up part of the bank's liabilities.
Click the link to view the UBP first half-year 2017 results and the presentation.
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