Quintet announces 2021 financial results, highlights growth in core business

Quintet Private Bank announced today its 2021 financial results, highlighting the ongoing growth of its core business over that 12-month period. 

Total group income rose to €460.8 million in 2021, up 3% compared to €447 million in 2020 when adjusted for material one-off items. Revenue growth was supported by higher net fee and commission income, which rose to €348 million, an 11% increase compared to €315 million the previous year. Revenue growth was further supported by increased lending, which reached €4.5 billion, up 25% from €3.6 billion in 2020. 

As of December 31, 2021, Quintet’s total client assets stood at €96.6 billion, up 14% from €85 billion at the end of 2020 and at their highest level in more than a decade. That reflects the steady growth recorded in the firm’s private banking, asset servicing and financial intermediaries businesses, serving individuals and families, as well as professional and institutional clients.

Reflecting Quintet’s focus on sustainable investing, sustainable assets under management rose to €11.7 billion at the end of last year – up nearly 100% from €5.9 billion at the end of 2020 – following a series of partnerships to introduce innovative investment solutions that meet client needs and help mitigate the impact of climate change. That trend continued in the first quarter of this year as the firm launched Quintet Earth – the world’s first multi-asset, climate-neutral investment fund – and then partnered with The Royal Mint to introduce the use of recycled gold in an exchange-traded commodity. 

In 2021, group expenses remained largely stable at €504.6 million, compared to €503.9 million in 2020. Quintet’s underlying profit before tax, which excludes material one-off and exceptional items, consequently improved to -€5.9 million, compared to -€17.3 million the previous year.

At the same time, significant one-off expenses weighed on the firm’s 2021 bottom line, notably those linked to the winding down of Quintet’s activities in Switzerland and restructuring to support the firm’s transformation. Inclusive of one-off and exceptional items, Quintet’s 2021 net loss stood at €110.2 million. Mitigating this impact, Quintet’s shareholder, Precision Capital, injected €60 million in additional capital last year – part of the total of more than €350 million in additional capital that Precision Capital has injected since acquiring Quintet in 2012. 

Quintet’s robust solvency position is reflective of the injection of such additional capital, along with the earlier placement of €125 million in additional tier-1 notes. The firm’s Basel III common equity tier-1 ratio stood at 18% at the end of 2021, well above the regulatory threshold. Quintet’s liquidity coverage ratio stood at 138.5% at the end of last year, likewise well above regulatory thresholds. Current sources of funding and liquidity remain extremely stable.

“Last year was marked by an extremely challenging external environment, and new challenges will continue to arise in 2022,” said Rory Tapner, Chairman of the Quintet Board of Directors. “So far this year, just as Europe eased its pandemic-related restrictions, a massive humanitarian crisis unfolded in Ukraine – sparking energy price volatility and wider economic shocks.

“In many respects, our job at Quintet is to help our clients navigate such uncertainty, providing wise counsel where needed so they can preserve and enhance their wealth throughout generational change,” Tapner said. “There is much our colleagues can be proud of, and yet always more work to do as we constantly strive to earn the trust of each family we have the opportunity to serve.”

Quintet Group CEO Jakob Stott added: “While we look forward to a better and more stable outlook for the world, our clients and our business, we remain firmly convinced that our model – a boutique wealth manager that cuts through complexity, acts with agility and works in partnership to meet client needs – will continue to prove successful.

“We are pleased with our ongoing progress across Europe and in the UK, where our ability to grow sustainably has been proven and the long-term opportunity is clear,” Stott said. “We will continue to foster our partnership culture, where our colleagues all focus on delivering for our clients – extending global insight founded upon deep local knowledge, coming together as one to become the most trusted fiduciary of family wealth.”