At the end of the 2023 financial year, PostFinance had generated earnings before taxes as per the accounting rules for banks (ARB) of 195 million francs. That is 1 million francs more than the previous year’s figure and evidence that, thanks to the turnaround in interest rates, PostFinance can again expect to see robust growth from a sound position after a period of consolidation. Because PostFinance paid significantly more taxes than in previous years, its overall profit of 164 million francs was 26 million francs lower than in 2022.
The interest differential business is a key source of revenue for PostFinance. With the turnaround to positive policy rates, relevant factors have changed. It is clear, then, that PostFinance is making strong progress – from a solid position – towards a gradual normalization of the overall interest margin and a growth path.
PostFinance customers are benefiting from the new situation, as PostFinance is passing interest on to them through various products. Nevertheless, the economic and regulatory environment remains challenging for PostFinance. Despite the positive interest rate environment, it still faces the competitive disadvantage of not being able to issue loans and mortgages independently. The trend towards digitization of payment transactions is leading to a significant decline in transactions at Swiss Post branches and is increasingly weighing on PostFinance’s result in the universal service.