VP Bank in capital markets

VP Bank’s registered shares A are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange; the registered shares B are not listed. The ­number of VP Bank’s listed registered shares A remained unchanged at 6,015,000 in 2020. The market capitalisation of registered shares A combined with the market value ­ of registered shares B, with a year-end value of CHF 741 ­million, was approximately 28 per cent below the 2019 value (CHF 1,025 million).

On the SIX Swiss Exchange where they are listed, VP Bank shares had a trading volume of 827,429 shares in 2020, representing average daily volume of 3,283 shares.

VP Bank shares got off to an encouraging start in the first months of 2020. However, as soon as the stock market began to price in the coronavirus pandemic towards the end of February, VP Bank shares also suffered significant losses. Neither the publication of the good annual results for 2019 nor the announcement of the Strategy 2026 could put an end to this trend. In the months that followed, the recovery of the share price was sluggish, which is likely due to the publication of the extraordinary value adjustment on an individual item in the loan portfolio of CHF 20 million (➔ Chart 1).

The low was reached on 28 October 2020 (CHF 99.00) and the high on 26 February 2020 (CHF 167.20). The ­average share price was CHF 125.88 and shares closed 2020 at CHF 112.00. Taking into account the dividend ­payment of CHF 5.50, VP Bank generated a return of just under ­–25 per cent in 2020, which is around 12 per­centage points below the return on the Swiss Bank Index (➔ Chart 2).

VP Bank strives to maintain a steady dividend approach, with a goal of paying out 40 per cent to 60 per cent of ­consolidated net income to shareholders. In April 2020, VP Bank paid a dividend of CHF 5.50 per registered share A, representing a dividend yield of 4.3 per cent at the time. That dividend was based on 2019 consoli- dated net income totalling CHF 73.5 million (➔ Chart 3).

VP Bank Ltd placed a total of three bonds in 2015 and 2019. For information on terms, interest rates and maturities, please refer to note 26.

VP Bank views investor relations as a value-determining factor for the company and its shareholders, and strives to inform market participants promptly and to the best of its ability in regard to current developments. The primary goal of VP Bank’s investor relations efforts is to communicate a true and fair picture of the Group to shareholders and other participants in the capital market in an open and ongoing dialogue, to strengthen trust, to clarify future potential, and thereby to achieve a fair capital market ­valuation.

VP Bank’s published annual and interim reports help enhance communications with institutional and private investors. These reports are complemented by the “Investor Relations” section on the VP Bank website and posted online at  along with all current information. The VP Bank interim annual report is also available in an online version at .

The continuing development of VP Bank Group’s annual and interim reports in accordance with international trends and legal requirements is taken seriously; under the motto of “We connect”, the design of the last annual report focused on the process of connectivity.

VP Bank Group’s 2019 Annual Report received a total of eight international awards, which recognised the outstanding quality of the VP Bank’s communications policy and again demonstrated its creative design prowess. VP Bank Group’s annual report was ranked number 3 in the HarbourClub and Bilanz’s Swiss Annual Report ­Rating. With a superb jury comprising design experts and financial professionals, this rating is the most important in Switzerland, and the largest of its kind.

VP Bank was also thrilled to receive an additional award, the famous Red Dot Design Award, in the Brands & ­Communication Design category. The 2019 Annual Report received Gold in the ARC Awards in the US, with VP Bank coming out on top against 1,700 submissions from 29 countries. The ARC Awards have been given out in the US for more than 30 years, and it is the largest annual report competition in the world.

VP Bank also received a Gold Award at the League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) Vision Awards in the US, featuring around 1,000 participants. Another Gold Award came from the Stevie Awards in the US. The online version of VP Bank’s 2019 Annual Report was awarded Gold at both the LACP Vision Awards and the ARC Awards. The 2019 Annual Report also demonstrated its high quality at the Galaxy Awards and the ­Spotlight Awards.

At VP Bank’s 57th ordinary Annual General Meeting on 24 April 2020 in Vaduz, the shareholders approved all of the resolutions proposed by the Board of Directors. 

Because of the ban on gatherings due to the coronavirus pandemic, voting took place electronically and by postal mail. Shareholders were able to follow the Annual General Meeting via live stream on the VP Bank website. Through the elimination of the social programme for the shareholders as well as the shareholder gift, VP Bank was able to make a charitable donation in coordination with the Liechtenstein Bankers’ Association.

The next ordinary Annual General Meeting will be held on 30 April 2021.

VP Bank maintains regular contacts with rating agency analysts and informs them continuously as regards business developments in order to ensure the most accurate assessment possible.

VP Bank is one of the few private banks in Liechtenstein and Switzerland to be rated by an international rating agency. Rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) confirmed the “A” rating for VP Bank again on 17 July 2020. The rating report cited the Bank’s very strong capitalisation and solid refinancing item as the primary reasons for this rating. At the same time, however, the outlook was changed from “stable” to “negative”. The change is a direct consequence of the valuation adjustment of around CHF 20 million that was made in March 2020.

That said, the improvement measures initiated by VP Bank in its processes, duties, competencies and responsibilities were met with broad approval and acceptance in the latest audit report by S&P. The S&P ratings committee was con­fident that this has significantly strengthened the risk ­governance of VP Bank. VP Bank is confident that this will help it to fulfil the necessary conditions to quickly return the outlook to “Stable”.

Standard & Poor’s current ratings report can be downloaded as a PDF file from the VP Bank website in the “Investor Relations” section. 

VP Bank shares are also followed by analysts from MIRABAUD Securities LLP (recommendation: buy), Research Partners AG (recommendation: buy), Zürcher Kantonalbank (recommendation: overweight) and Kepler Cheuvreux (recommendation: buy). Recommendations as of February 2021.

Further information on VP Bank’s capital structure and core shareholders can be found in the section “Corporate Governance”.

Felipe Gomez de Luis

Head of Group Communications & Marketing

T +423 235 65 22 · F +423 235 66 20

investor.relations@vpbank.com 

www.vpbank.com / Investor Relations