Zurich-based EFG International published a net profit of approximately 130 million Swiss francs for the first four months of 2025 – a new record and significantly above the more than 110 million francs reported for the same period last year. The annualized return on tangible equity exceeded 21 percent, the bank said Wednesday.

Net new assets totaled 3.0 billion francs during the period, translating into an annualized growth rate of 5.5 percent – the upper end of EFG’s medium-term target range of 4 to 6 percent. Latin America, Asia Pacific, and the UK were the strongest contributors among business regions.

Currency Effect Drags on Assets

Assets under management declined to 159.2 billion francs as of the end of April, down from 165.5 billion francs at year-end 2024. This was mainly due to adverse currency effects of around 8.5 billion francs following the strengthening of the Swiss franc. Including the pro forma impact of the pending Cité Gestion acquisition, AuM would have stood at roughly 167 billion francs.

The revenue margin rose to 97 basis points from 96 basis points, while the cost/income ratio improved to approximately 70 percent, down from 72.9 percent for full-year 2024.

De-Risking Life Insurance Exposure

According to CEO Giorgio Pradelli, the figures underscore the strength of EFG’s diversified business model: «Our well-diversified business model and offering across geographies enabled us to further increase our top line and to deliver record profitability.»

After the reporting cut-off, EFG completed the sale of part of its directly held life insurance portfolio, reducing the total carrying value of life insurance exposure to under 275 million francs, down from 363.9 million francs at the end of 2024. This follows the February sale of its synthetic life insurance exposure.

New Hiring Cycle Ahead

Additionally, EFG announced an expected 45 million franc net profit contribution in the first half of the year from an insurance recovery tied to a 2023 legal settlement involving a Taiwanese insurer.

As of end-April, the bank had 695 Client Relationship Officers (CROs), slightly down from 703 at year-end. Nonetheless, EFG reiterated its ambition to hire 50 to 70 new CROs per year. The bank will present its updated strategic roadmap and financial targets at its Investor Day on November 25.