VP Bank in capital markets

VP Bank communicates a true and fair picture of the Group to shareholders and other participants on the capital markets in an open and ongoing dialogue.

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 2021. The market capitalisation of registered shares A combined with the market value of registered shares B, with a year-end value of CHF 639 million, was approximately 14 per cent below the 2020 value (CHF 741 million).

On SIX Swiss Exchange where they are listed, VP Bank shares had a trading volume of 688,658 shares in 2021, representing average daily volume of 2,711 shares.

VP Bank shares had a solid start to the year, and by early March they were outperforming the local bank index. But as investor sentiment towards small-cap stocks soured, this outperformance quickly evaporated, and by mid-summer, the shares were trading in parallel to the index. As the appetite of investors for the banking sector waned, a phase of underperformance set in. The recovery of the share price in October came to an end in the following month, since investors had become risk-averse on account of macro­economic concerns, and as a result, VP Bank shares closed the year in the negative. (➔ Chart 1).

The high was reached on 8 March 2021 at CHF 125.00, and the low on 20 December 2021 at CHF 93.20. The average share price was CHF 108.13, and shares closed 2021 at CHF 96.60. Taking into account the dividend payment of CHF 4.00, VP Bank generated a return of –10.2 per cent in 2021, which is around 6 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 Group net income to shareholders. In May 2021, VP Bank paid a dividend of CHF 4.00 per registered share A, representing a dividend yield of 3.6 per cent at the time. For May 2022, it is proposing a dividend of CHF 5.00 per registered share A, which corresponds to a dividend yield of 5.2% as of year-end 2021 (➔ 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 (IR) as a value-determining factor for the company and its shareholders. IR therefore constitutes a key part of the Bank’s strategic overall communication.

The primary goal of VP Bank’s investor relations efforts is to establish and cultivate relationships with current and potential shareholders and other participants in the capital markets, to communicate a true and fair picture of the Group in an open and ongoing dialogue, to strengthen trust, to increase the willingness of investors to make investments, to clarify future potential and thereby to achieve a fair capital market valuation.

The focal points of IR include holding discussions with analysts and investors, disclosing ad hoc information regarding business issues of relevance under securities law, producing the company’s annual and interim reports, releasing the related financial results and organising the annual general meeting of shareholders. In order to strengthen IR efforts, a new role will be created effective 1 April 2022, which will report directly to the CFO.

In 2021, VP Bank’s management attended numerous meetings of investors and analysts as individuals and groups and also participated in several roadshows and investor conferences, most of which were held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. Analyst meetings were held following the presentation of the annual and interim results.

VP Bank’s published annual and semi-annual reports help enhance communications with institutional and private investors. These reports are complemented by the www.vpbank.com / Investor Relations website and reports posted online at report.vpbank.com along with all current information.

The continuing development of VP Bank Group’s annual report in accordance with international trends and legal requirements is taken seriously. VP Bank Group’s Annual Report 2020 received a total of seven international awards, recognising the outstanding quality of the VP Bank’s communications policy and again demonstrating its creative design prowess. VP Bank Group’s annual report was awarded 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 additional awards at the famous “ARC Awards” in the US. Its Annual Report 2020 received Gold for the online edition and Silver for the print edition, with VP Bank coming out on top against 1,875 submissions from 27 countries. The ARC Awards have been given out in the US for 35 years, and it is the world’s largest competition held exclusively for annual reports.

VP Bank also received a Gold Award for its printed report and for its online version at the 20th League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) Vision Awards in the US, featuring around 500 participants from 20 countries. It also received a Gold Award for the print edition at the 2021 Galaxy Awards, as well as a Silver Stevie Award for the 2020 online report at the 18th annual International Business Awards. The winners of the Stevie Awards were chosen from more than 3,700 nominations submitted by organisations from 65 countries.

Annual reports, letters to shareholders, presentations and regulations can be viewed at www.vpbank.com / Investor Relations. Investors and stakeholders can also find current information about the latest developments on the social media platforms Twitter and LinkedIn.

At VP Bank’s 58th ordinary annual general meeting on 30 April 2021 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. Presentations and minutes can be viewed at www.vpbank.com / Investor Relations / General meeting of shareholders.

The next ordinary annual general meeting will be held on 29 April 2022.

VP Bank maintains regular contact with 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. The rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) confirmed the solid “A” rating (A/Negative/A–1) for VP Bank on 17 July 2021 and thus that the strategic measures taken were correct. The rating report recently cited the Bank’s very strong capitalisation, stable client and shareholder structure and solid refinancing item as the primary reasons for this rating.

The measures initiated in 2020 with regard to processes, duties, competencies and responsibilities bolstered VP Bank’s governance considerably. VP Bank thus fulfils the conditions for strengthening the rating further. Stan­dard & Poor’s rating reports can be downloaded as a PDF file from the VP Bank website in the “Investor Relations / VP Bank share” section. 

In May 2021, the firm GBB-Rating from Germany confirmed the “A–” rating with a stable outlook. 

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 2022.

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

Daniela Jenni

Head of Group Communications

T +423 235 65 22 · investor.relations(at)vpbank.com

www.vpbank.com / Investor Relations