LeapRate Exclusive… Further to our exclusive coverage of Swiss FX broker Dukascopy’s first half 2017 results, LeapRate has received a formal response and explanation from company executive Laurent Bellieres, Chief Financial and Chief Risk Officer, as to “what happened” in the first six months of this year.
What were Dukascopy’s trading volumes during the first six months of the year?
Why were Revenues down 17%, if trading volumes were actually up?
Laurent Bellieres, Dukascopy
Here is what Laurent had to say…
Contrary to what is stated in the article, there is no decline in business activity. Compared to the first 6 months 2016, trading volume is 7% up and stands at CHF 61.6 billion monthly [approx USD $64 billion monthly] on average, a figure which is not far away from Swissquote’s forex volume that you have mentioned. We focus on the continuous rise in business volume as main indicator of competitiveness and strategical success.
Another positive note is the contribution of our subsidiaries in both consolidated client deposits and net result.
The thing is 2017 is a challenging one in terms of trading profitability, mainly due to particular market conditions. Our very competitive prices/fees are an opportunity for traders but make harder the generation of income for our Group, even when business volume is rising. Another important factor has been the increase of operating costs. The latter were maintained in the budget while financial forecast anticipated higher income. We will shortly decide whether expenses need to be put under pressure.
Looking forward, Dukascopy Bank maintains its diversification strategy and will launch very soon new products and services including in the payment and cards business. The objective is to become an online universal bank serving clients from around the world, without any focus on HNWI unlike many other Swiss banks.