Half Year 2026 Swissquote Group Holding SA Earnings Call

August 13, 2026

Speaker #3: If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star 2. If you don't, you are requested to use only your hands as well as in the questions. Please hold the line. The conference will begin shortly.

Speaker #3: Thank you. Please note: anyone who wishes to ask a question during the conference may press star and 1 on the touchtone telephone. You will hear a tone to confirm that you've entered the queue.

Operator 2: Please note, anyone who wishes to ask a question during the conference may press star and one on their touchtone telephone. You will hear a tone to confirm that you entered a queue. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use only hands-up while asking a question. Please hold the line. The conference will begin shortly. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Swissquote H1 Results 2026 conference call and live webcast. I am Valentina, the call's operator. I would like to remind you that all participants will be in listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session. You can register for questions at any time by pressing star and one on your telephone.

Speaker #3: If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and 2. But if you do not, you are requested to use only hands as well as in the questions. Please hold the line; the conference will begin shortly.

Speaker #3: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Swissquote Half-Year Results 2026 conference call and live webcast. I am Valentina, the Chorus Call operator. I would like to remind you that all participants will be in listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded.

Speaker #3: The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session. You can register for questions at any time by pressing star, then 1, on your telephone.

Speaker #3: In the interest of time, and to allow as many participants as possible to ask questions, we kindly ask that each participant limit their questions to two.

Operator 2: In the interest of time, and to allow as many participants as possible to ask questions, we kindly ask that each participant limit their questions to two. This shall apply to questions asked by phone and to written questions. Webcast viewers may submit their questions in writing via the relative field. For operator assistance, please press star and zero. The conference must not be recorded for publication or broadcast. At this time, it is my pleasure to hand over to Marc Bürki, CEO. Please go ahead.

Speaker #3: This shall apply to questions asked by phone and to written questions. Webcast viewers may submit their questions in writing. For operator assistance, please press star and zero.

Operator: This shall apply to questions asked by phone and to written questions. Webcast viewers may submit their questions in writing via the relative field. For operator assistance, please press star and zero. The conference must not be recorded for publication or broadcast. At this time, it is my pleasure to hand over to Marc Bürki, CEO. Please go ahead.

Speaker #3: The conference must not be recorded for publication or broadcast. At this time, it's my pleasure to hand over to Mark Burke, CEO. Please go ahead.

Speaker #2: Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Thank you for joining us at our press conference for our first half results 2026. We are here at our headquarters in Gland, and I am with our CFO, Yvon Cardenas, and we will both go through the presentation.

Marc Bürki: Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Thank you for joining us to our press conference for our H1 results 2026. We are here at our headquarter in Gland, and I am with our CFO, Yvan Cardenas, and we both will go through the presentation. I hope you had a chance of downloading our PowerPoint presentation. Otherwise, you can follow this here on the screen. We will go through the slides, and then at the end, we will have time for some questions. I will immediately start with the first slide. We had a good H1 in terms of growth. The client's assets are at the absolute record level. We are now close to CHF 100 billion of assets at CHF 96.3 billion. That is a plus of 19.8% compared to one year ago. Also in terms of net new money, it is almost one of the best H1 we ever had.

Speaker #2: I hope you had a chance to download the PowerPoint presentation; otherwise, you can follow it here on the screen. We will go through the slides, and then at the end, we'll have time for some questions.

Speaker #2: I will immediately start with the first slide. We had a good half year in terms of growth. The client's assets are at an absolute record level, now close to 100 billion of assets, at 96.3.

Marc Bürki: We are now close to CHF 100 billion of assets at CHF 96.3 billion. That is a plus of 19.8% compared to one year ago. Also in terms of net new money, it is almost one of the best H1 we ever had. Purely organic growth of assets at CHF 5.1 billion. In total, we now have more than 1.2 million accounts and the revenues we generated with our clients amounted to CHF 364.2 million of net revenues. That is also a plus of 1.7% compared with the figures one year ago, and a good pre-tax profit of 50.2%. On the next slide, the net new money. Sorry. We had CHF 5.1 billion of net new monies in H1.

Speaker #2: That's a plus of 19.8% compared to one year ago. And also, in terms of net new money, we had almost one of the best half-years we ever had—purely organic growth of assets at $5.1 billion.

Marc Bürki: Purely organic growth of assets at CHF 5.1 billion. In total, we now have more than 1.2 million accounts and the revenues we generated with our clients amounted to CHF 364.2 million of net revenues. That is also a plus of 1.7% compared with the figures one year ago, and a good pre-tax profit of 50.2%. On the next slide, the net new money. Sorry. We had CHF 5.1 billion of net new monies in H1. If you see here on the left, that is almost one of our best results. I think it is the second best. It was only surpassed by H1 2025, where we had CHF 5.2 billion. The growth story continues. Very good results in terms of number of accounts. We added 64,000 new accounts in H1 2026 for Swissquote and 24,000 new accounts for Yuh. You see here the final results at 1.2 million.

Speaker #2: So in total, we now have more than 1.2 million accounts, and the revenues we generated with our clients amounted to CHF 364.2 million of net revenues.

Speaker #2: That's also a plus of 1.7% compared with the figures one year ago. And a good pre-tax profit of 50.2%. So on the next slide, the net new money—as said, we had, sorry, I have a, sorry, we had CHF 5.1 billion of net new money in the first half, and if you see here on the left, that's almost one of our best results.

Marc Bürki: If you see here on the left, that is almost one of our best results. I think it is the second best. It was only surpassed by H1 2025, where we had CHF 5.2 billion. The growth story continues. Very good results in terms of number of accounts. We added 64,000 new accounts in H1 2026 for Swissquote and 24,000 new accounts for Yuh. You see here the final results at 1.2 million. You also see the difference between classic trading accounts with Swissquote, where the average asset is at CHF 115K, compared to Yuh, where logically the assets is much smaller.

Speaker #2: I think it's the second best. It was only surpassed by H1 2025, where we had $5.2 billion. So the growth story continues—very good results in terms of number of accounts.

Speaker #2: We added 64,000 new accounts in the first half of 2026 for Swissquote, and 24,000 new accounts for you. And you see here the final results at 1.2 million.

Speaker #2: You also see the difference between a classic trading account with Swissquote, where the 115,000—compared to you—where logically the assets are much smaller. It's a neobank, so people have less assets on the account, but still, 9,500 Swiss francs—that’s probably, if you compare this with our international peers, much higher than what you can find at other neobanks.

Marc Bürki: You also see the difference between classic trading accounts with Swissquote, where the average asset is at CHF 115K, compared to Yuh, where logically the assets is much smaller. It is a neobank, so people have less assets on the account, but still CHF 9,500. That is probably, if you compare this with our international peers, that is much higher than what you can find at other neobanks. So, a nice growth of 6% on number of clients from H2 2025 to H1 2026. In terms of net new monies, this is the famous CHF 5.1 billion I was mentioning before. We have our three hotspots where the main growth is coming from. Switzerland is still our most important place where we are, and it is CHF 2.7 billion of net new monies in the first half and Europe with CHF 1.7 billion.

Marc Bürki: It is a neobank, so people have less assets on the account, but still CHF 9,500. That is probably, if you compare this with our international peers, that is much higher than what you can find at other neobanks. So, a nice growth of 6% on number of clients from H2 2025 to H1 2026. In terms of net new monies, this is the famous CHF 5.1 billion I was mentioning before. We have our three hotspots where the main growth is coming from. Switzerland is still our most important place where we are, and it is CHF 2.7 billion of net new monies in the first half and Europe with CHF 1.7 billion.

Speaker #2: So, a nice growth of 6% in the number of clients from H2 2025 to H1 2026. In terms of net new monies, this is the famous CHF 5.1 billion.

Speaker #2: As I was mentioning before, we have our three hotspots where the main growth is coming from. Switzerland is still our most important place where we are.

Speaker #2: It's $2.7 billion of net new monies in the first half, and Europe with $1.7 billion. For Europe, we wanted to show you where actually the growth is coming from.

Marc Bürki: For Europe, we wanted to show you where actually the growth is coming from. It is mainly Benelux, France, and Germany, up to 74%. This is where we are concentrating our biggest sales and marketing efforts, and we had quite a success in those countries. Middle East, Asia, this is mainly our subsidiaries in Dubai with half a billion, 587. That is also a very good number compared to previous half year. The rest of all is a little bit more modest, but it is more driven by some selective outflows. Organized by our company, we are a little bit more selective on our clients in terms of revenue potential than before. From time to time, we do close a certain number of client relations. CHF 5.1 billion, again, it is really a very good number. You see the global dispatch here.

Speaker #2: So it's mainly Benelux, France, and Germany. Up to 74%—this is where we are concentrating our biggest sales and marketing efforts. And we had quite a success in those countries.

Speaker #2: Then Middle East, Asia—this is mainly our subsidiaries in Dubai, with half a billion, 587. That's also a very good number compared to the previous half year.

Speaker #2: And the rest of all this is a little bit more modest, but it's more driven by some selective outflows organized by our company. We are a little bit more selective on our clients in terms of revenue potential than before.

Speaker #2: And from time to time, we do close a certain number of client relations. So, $5.1 billion—again, it's really a very good number. And you see the global dispatch here.

Marc Bürki: From time to time, we do close a certain number of client relations. CHF 5.1 billion, again, it is really a very good number. You see the global dispatch here. We have 54% coming from Switzerland and 46% coming from our international operations. Also in terms of distribution, 54% is B2C. That is still our main driver, and the rest is B2B or B2B2C with 46%. So a very good distribution in terms of net new monies, and also something that makes us really positive over the longer term in terms of our growth engine is thriving. This is also the reason why we do not change our forecast for 2028.

Speaker #2: We have 54% coming from Switzerland and 46% coming from our international operations. And also, in terms of distribution, 54% is B2C—this is still our main driver.

Marc Bürki: We have 54% coming from Switzerland and 46% coming from our international operations. Also in terms of distribution, 54% is B2C. That is still our main driver, and the rest is B2B or B2B2C with 46%. So a very good distribution in terms of net new monies, and also something that makes us really positive over the longer term in terms of our growth engine is thriving. This is also the reason why we do not change our forecast for 2028. We still think that we will make half a billion of profit in 2028, and with about CHF 900 million of revenue. This is purely based on asset growth forecast over the next year. With CHF 5.1 billion, we are in advance. Our average forecast that we use to forecast our future numbers is a growth of CHF 7 billion a year.

Speaker #2: And the rest is B2B or B2B2C, with 46%. So, a very good distribution in terms of net new monies. Also, something that makes us really positive over the longer term, in terms of our growth engine, is thriving.

Speaker #2: And this is also the reason why we do not change our forecast for 2028. We still think that we will make half a billion of profit in 2028.

Marc Bürki: We still think that we will make half a billion of profit in 2028, and with about CHF 900 million of revenue. This is purely based on asset growth forecast over the next year. With CHF 5.1 billion, we are in advance. Our average forecast that we use to forecast our future numbers is a growth of CHF 7 billion a year. You see here that with CHF 5.1, we are really ahead of our plans. Client asset here has now reached CHF 96.3 billion. Of course, it is the highest number ever. It has been a little bit helped with good market. As usual, we have 15% of those CHF 96.3 billion that are deposited in cash.

Speaker #2: And with about $900 million of revenue, and this is purely based on asset growth forecast over the next year, with $5.1 billion, we are in advance. Our average forecast that we use to predict our future numbers is a growth of $7 billion a year.

Speaker #2: And you see here that with 5.1, we are really ahead of our plans. Client assets have now reached CHF 96.3 billion. And, of course, it's the highest number ever.

Marc Bürki: You see here that with CHF 5.1, we are really ahead of our plans. Client asset here has now reached CHF 96.3 billion. Of course, it is the highest number ever. It has been a little bit helped with good market. As usual, we have 15% of those CHF 96.3 billion that are deposited in cash. It is also the one element which is pushing us towards a Category 3 bank in Switzerland. We are not far away. The one element that we are measured on to become a Category 3 bank is the total balance sheet, and we are at CHF 16.9 billion and the trigger is CHF 17 billion. So we are really very close to becoming a Category 3 bank. Here, the average assets has slowed down a little bit. This is not last due to lower volatility.

Speaker #2: It has been a little bit helped with good markets. And as usual, we have 15% of those CHF 96.3 billion that are deposited in cash.

Speaker #2: It's also the one element which is pushing us towards a Category 3 bank in Switzerland; we are not far away. The one element that we are measured on to become a Category 3 bank is the total balance sheet.

Marc Bürki: It is also the one element which is pushing us towards a Category 3 bank in Switzerland. We are not far away. The one element that we are measured on to become a Category 3 bank is the total balance sheet, and we are at CHF 16.9 billion and the trigger is CHF 17 billion. So we are really very close to becoming a Category 3 bank. Here, the average assets has slowed down a little bit. This is not last due to lower volatility. We guess it's a very short-term impact, and it will recover in the coming H2. The distribution of revenue shows a little bit what happened in H1.

Speaker #2: And we are at $16.9 billion, and the trigger is $17 billion, so we are really very close to becoming a category three bank. Here, the average assets have slowed down a little bit.

Speaker #2: This is not lost due to lower volatility. So it's the weakest; it's a very short-term impact, and it will recover in the coming half year.

Marc Bürki: We guess it's a very short-term impact, and it will recover in the coming H2. The distribution of revenue shows a little bit what happened in H1. We had good growth in fee and commission income. We had good growth on interest and stable revenue for eForex and trading. What really was missing in the first half was the revenue on crypto assets. There, in our budget, we estimated that in 2026, we will do CHF 85 million compared with what happens over the last two years. We only did CHF 14 million in the first half, and this really is due to very low volatility. If you follow a little bit what's happening on cryptocurrencies and the biggest one of it, Bitcoin, it almost didn't change. It stayed around $63,000 to $65,000 for a Bitcoin, and very stable, very low volatility.

Speaker #2: The distribution of revenue shows a little bit what happened in H1. So, we had good growth in fee and commission income. We had good growth on interest, and stable revenue for eForex.

Marc Bürki: We had good growth in fee and commission income. We had good growth on interest and stable revenue for eForex and trading. What really was missing in the first half was the revenue on crypto assets. There, in our budget, we estimated that in 2026, we will do CHF 85 million compared with what happens over the last two years. We only did CHF 14 million in the first half, and this really is due to very low volatility. If you follow a little bit what's happening on cryptocurrencies and the biggest one of it, Bitcoin, it almost didn't change.

Speaker #2: And trading, but what really was missing in the first half was the revenue on crypto assets. There, in our budget, we estimated that in 2026 we will do 85 million.

Speaker #2: Compared with what happened over the last two years, we only did 14 million in the first half. And this really is due to very low volatility.

Speaker #2: If you follow a little bit what's happening on cryptocurrencies, and the biggest one of them, Bitcoin, it almost didn't change. It stayed around $60,000 to $65,000 for a Bitcoin.

Marc Bürki: It stayed around $63,000 to $65,000 for a Bitcoin, and very stable, very low volatility. This, of course, is not favorable to trading with such a low volatility. It's a little bit difficult to forecast the Bitcoin volatility over the next year. What we did for the H2 2026, we stayed a little bit conservative. We say, "Okay, let's just double everything," and more or less, this is the new guidance for 2028. Now, of course, if volatility would come back on our cryptocurrency, then this would completely change the figure. Again, we'd rather stay conservative there, and we estimate that the second half will be like the first half.

Speaker #2: And very stable, very low volatility. And this, of course, is not favorable to trading with such low volatility. So it's a little bit difficult to forecast the Bitcoin volatility over the next year.

Marc Bürki: This, of course, is not favorable to trading with such a low volatility. It's a little bit difficult to forecast the Bitcoin volatility over the next year. What we did for the H2 2026, we stayed a little bit conservative. We say, "Okay, let's just double everything," and more or less, this is the new guidance for 2028. Now, of course, if volatility would come back on our cryptocurrency, then this would completely change the figure. Again, we'd rather stay conservative there, and we estimate that the second half will be like the first half. Next slide is the net revenue by customer profile. Here on the left side, you really see the domicile where we are making our money. It's still a Swiss business to 56%, but Europe is now picking up. It represents already 25% of our revenue.

Speaker #2: What we did for the second half of 2026, we stayed a little bit conservative. We said, okay, let's just double everything, more or less, and this is the new guidance for 2028.

Speaker #2: Now, of course, if volatility were to come back on our cryptocurrency, then this would completely change the figure. But again, we would rather stay conservative there.

Speaker #2: And we estimate that the second half will be like the first half. Next slide is the net revenue by customer profile. Here, on the left side, you really see the domicile where we are making our money.

Marc Bürki: Next slide is the net revenue by customer profile. Here on the left side, you really see the domicile where we are making our money. It's still a Swiss business to 56%, but Europe is now picking up. It represents already 25% of our revenue. This is the place where we have a strong growth with our bank in Luxembourg, and it's also something where we do invest a lot. We invest in staff and people and systems in Luxembourg because we think we have a very good product that is appealing to European mass affluent market.

Speaker #2: It's still a Swiss business to 56%. But Europe is now picking up. It already represents 25% of our revenue. This is the place where we have strong growth, with our bank in Luxembourg.

Marc Bürki: This is the place where we have a strong growth with our bank in Luxembourg, and it's also something where we do invest a lot. We invest in staff and people and systems in Luxembourg because we think we have a very good product that is appealing to European mass affluent market. This is our strategy for the coming months and years, is to continue pushing our brand and our products, and we know, and we can see that we are successful there. Number three is Middle East. That's mainly our operations in Dubai. That represents 12% of our total revenue. Now by customer types, this is on the right side. This also is a very stable figure. It's about two third is the B2C business. That's still our main business dealing with direct clients.

Speaker #2: And it's also something where we do invest a lot. We invest in staff, people, and systems in Luxembourg because we think we have a very good product that is appealing to the European mass affluent market.

Speaker #2: And this is our strategy for the coming months and years: to continue pushing our brand and our products. And we know, and we can see, that we are successful there.

Marc Bürki: This is our strategy for the coming months and years, is to continue pushing our brand and our products, and we know, and we can see that we are successful there. Number three is Middle East. That's mainly our operations in Dubai. That represents 12% of our total revenue. Now by customer types, this is on the right side. This also is a very stable figure. It's about two third is the B2C business. That's still our main business dealing with direct clients. 28%, that's the institutional business or the B2C business, and this is a figure that is very stable and hasn't changed a lot over the last years.

Speaker #2: Then number three is the Middle East. That's mainly our operations in Dubai. That represents 12% of our total revenue. Now, by customer type, this is on the right side.

Speaker #2: This also is a very stable figure. About two-thirds is the B2C business—that's still our main business, dealing with direct clients. Then 28% is the institutional business, or the B2B2C business.

Marc Bürki: 28%, that's the institutional business or the B2C business, and this is a figure that is very stable and hasn't changed a lot over the last years. A look on the revenue by asset class. On the left side, you see that it's a well-diversified picture. Now, the crypto assets here, as mentioned before, represents only 4% of our revenue. We estimated that it would represent about 10%. It's not a crypto story anymore, so it can only be good news if suddenly the crypto revenue or the crypto stock would gain in volatility. Then you would certainly see this 4% growing again. That's, again, difficult to forecast, and let's see what the crypto market will do in the second half. Then the revenues by type of business, and we distinguish between transaction-based and non-transaction-based business.

Speaker #2: And this is a figure that is very stable and hasn't changed a lot over the last years. A look at the revenue by asset class—it's on the left side—you see that it's a well-diversified picture.

Marc Bürki: A look on the revenue by asset class. On the left side, you see that it's a well-diversified picture. Now, the crypto assets here, as mentioned before, represents only 4% of our revenue. We estimated that it would represent about 10%. It's not a crypto story anymore, so it can only be good news if suddenly the crypto revenue or the crypto stock would gain in volatility. Then you would certainly see this 4% growing again. That's, again, difficult to forecast, and let's see what the crypto market will do in the second half.

Speaker #2: Now, the crypto asset here, as mentioned before, represents only 4% of our revenue. We estimated that it would represent about 10%. So, it's not a crypto story anymore.

Speaker #2: So it can only be good news if suddenly the crypto revenue or the crypto stock would gain in volatility. Then you would certainly see these 4% growing again.

Speaker #2: But that's, again, difficult to forecast. Let's see what the crypto market will do in the second half. Then, the revenues by type of business.

Marc Bürki: Then the revenues by type of business, and we distinguish between transaction-based and non-transaction-based business. This is, again, CHF 364.2 million revenue for the H1, and about half of it, a little bit more is transaction-based, 52%. The non-transaction-based, which is the interest income, custody fees, the securities lending business, this represents 48%. So a good development here, and this is also something we want to keep, and even push a little bit the non-transaction-based revenue in the future.

Speaker #2: And we distinguish between transaction-based and non-transaction-based business. This is, again, CHF 364.2 million revenue for the first half. And about half of it—a little bit more—is transaction-based, 52%.

Marc Bürki: This is, again, CHF 364.2 million revenue for the H1, and about half of it, a little bit more is transaction-based, 52%. The non-transaction-based, which is the interest income, custody fees, the securities lending business, this represents 48%. So a good development here, and this is also something we want to keep, and even push a little bit the non-transaction-based revenue in the future. One of the initiatives we have that is working very well is the securities lending business that is now picking up. We have a very good solution, very attractive to our clients as we are sharing the revenue with our clients on a very good model. They get 50%, we get 50%, and it is a very secure model that we have organized over the last 2 years. The headcount as of 30 June 2026. Now we have in total 1,511 full-time equivalent.

Speaker #2: But the non-transaction-based income, which includes interest income, custody fees, and the securities lending business, represents 48%. So, good development here. And this is also something we want to keep.

Speaker #2: And even push a little bit the non-transaction-based revenue in the future. One of the initiatives we have that is working very well is the securities lending business, which is now picking up.

Marc Bürki: One of the initiatives we have that is working very well is the securities lending business that is now picking up. We have a very good solution, very attractive to our clients as we are sharing the revenue with our clients on a very good model. They get 50%, we get 50%, and it is a very secure model that we have organized over the last 2 years. The headcount as of 30 June 2026. Now we have in total 1,511 full-time equivalent. This is a distribution here on the left, you see it is mainly technology driven. We are a tech bank, and we are proud to be a technology bank. That is our DNA.

Speaker #2: We have a very good solution—very attractive to our clients—as we are sharing the revenue with our clients on a very good model.

Speaker #2: They get 50%, we get 50%. And it's a very secure model that we have organized over the last two years. The headcount as of 30th June 2026—now we have in total 1,511 full-time equivalents.

Speaker #2: This is a distribution here on the left. You see it's mainly technology-driven, so we are a tech bank. And we are proud to be a technology bank.

Marc Bürki: This is a distribution here on the left, you see it is mainly technology driven. We are a tech bank, and we are proud to be a technology bank. That is our DNA. That is where we make our difference with other banks in Switzerland and in Europe, 35%. The sales part represent 18% and 15% in our foreign offices. This is the place where we have invested a lot in the past years, and mainly to get ready for this Category 3 bank status that we now have or soon have. This is now 15% of our headcount is in risk and compliance, but also quite normal for a bank of our size. Now, if you look at the variation in headcounts, compared to December 2025, you see that the biggest part, 34 of the new headcounts we hired, is in our growth initiatives. So mainly technology.

Speaker #2: That's our DNA. That's where we make our difference with other banks in Switzerland and in Europe. Thirty-five percent. And then, sales—the sales part represents 18%, and 15% in our foreign offices.

Marc Bürki: That is where we make our difference with other banks in Switzerland and in Europe, 35%. The sales part represent 18% and 15% in our foreign offices. This is the place where we have invested a lot in the past years, and mainly to get ready for this Category 3 bank status that we now have or soon have. This is now 15% of our headcount is in risk and compliance, but also quite normal for a bank of our size. Now, if you look at the variation in headcounts, compared to December 2025, you see that the biggest part, 34 of the new headcounts we hired, is in our growth initiatives. So mainly technology.

Speaker #2: And then this is the place where we have invested a lot in the past, in the past years, and mainly to get ready for this Category 3 bank status that we now have or will soon have.

Speaker #2: This is now 15% of our headcount in risk and compliance. That's also quite normal for a bank of our size. Now, if you look at the variation in headcount compared to December 2025, you see that the biggest part—34 of the new headcount we hired—is in our growth initiatives.

Speaker #2: So mainly technology—we hired 17 people. The growth of our foreign office, mainly in Europe, also pushed the headcount there; that's 15. And then a small growth on our US staff, with two additional people.

Marc Bürki: There we hired 17 people. The growth of our foreign office, mainly in Europe, also pushed the headcount there at 15, and then a small growth on our Yuh staff with 2 additional people. That gives a subtotal of 1,482. The others, as mentioned before, this is growth due to our bigger status as being a bigger bank, and there we hired 29 people. In total, we have 1,511. What is a little bit the forecast? We think it will slow down in the future. We have pre-financed the biggest part of our readiness to be a Category 3 bank. That should be okay now, and we also think that AI will bring a lot of additional efficiency. So we do not forecast to have the same rates of headcount growth over the next year until 2028. That is a strategy of our company.

Speaker #2: And that gives us a subtotal of 1,482. And then the others, as mentioned before, this is gross due to our biggest status, as being a bigger bank.

Speaker #2: And there we hired 29 people. And in total, we have 1,511. So, what's a little bit the forecast? We think it will slow down in the future.

Speaker #2: We have pre-financed the biggest part of our readiness to be a category three bank. That should be okay now. And we also think that AI will bring a lot of additional efficiencies.

Speaker #2: So, we do not forecast having the same rates of headcount growth over the next year until 2028. That's a strategy of our company.

Marc Bürki: So we do not forecast to have the same rates of headcount growth over the next year until 2028. That is a strategy of our company.

Speaker #2: We think that we now have a good size to be able to manage the missions and the growth pattern of our bank. Regarding profitability, if we start from the CHF 96.3 billion of clients' assets on average, this generated 79 basis points of revenue.

Marc Bürki: About the profitability, if we start from the CHF 96.3 billion of clients' assets, on average, this generated 79 basis points of revenue, and this is the CHF 364.2 million of revenue we generated, and then 40 basis points on the CHF 96.3 billion is the pre-tax profit margin. You see here on the right the evolution of our profit. You see, first of all, that it did grow, and it is now stabilized a little bit here. It is CHF 153.6 million net profit compared to H2 2025.

Speaker #2: And this is the $364.2 million of revenue we generated. And then 40 basis points on the $96.3 billion is the pre-tax profit margin.

Speaker #2: And you see here on the right the evolution of our profit. You see, first of all, that it did grow, and it's now stabilized a little bit here.

Speaker #2: It's CHF 153.6 million net profit compared to H2 2025. But there, in H2 2025, remember we had this special one-off that was linked to the acquisition of the 50% of U from our joint venture partner.

Marc Bürki: But there in H2 2025, remember we had this special one-off that was linked to the acquisition of the 50% of Yuh from our joint venture partner, and that triggered this exceptional one-off in 2025, so we should rather compare our numbers with H1 2025. Then you can see here that we are stable at a high level, which I think is a good performance given the current economic situation, the uncertainty, and also the special situation with cryptocurrency. For us, this is a good sign. So we are able to generate high profit even in difficult market condition. But again, more important for us really is our growth engine. We want to grow the assets. We want to grow the net new monies H1 after H1. And of course, also we want to get to have new, good clients who are joining our system.

Speaker #2: And that's triggered these exceptional one-offs in 2025. So we should rather compare our numbers with H1 2025. And then you can see here that we are stable at a high level, which I think is a good performance given the current economic situation, the uncertainty, and also the special situation with cryptocurrency.

Speaker #2: For us, this is a good sign. So we are able to generate high profit even in difficult market conditions. But again, more important for us really is our growth engine. We want to grow the assets, we want to grow the net new monies, half year after half year.

Marc Bürki: We want to grow the assets. We want to grow the net new monies H1 after H1. And of course, also we want to get to have new, good clients who are joining our system. And this has been achieved in the first half of 2026. Now about Yuh. It is our neobank that is now owned 100% by the group. With 423,000 clients, we are the biggest neobank regulated in Switzerland. We still have a target of about half a million clients by the end of 2026. So we will accelerate the growth a little bit. And for that, we have signed a contract with Young Boys.

Speaker #2: And of course, we also want to attract new, good clients who are joining our system. This has been achieved in the first half of 2026.

Marc Bürki: And this has been achieved in the first half of 2026. Now about Yuh. It is our neobank that is now owned 100% by the group. With 423,000 clients, we are the biggest neobank regulated in Switzerland. We still have a target of about half a million clients by the end of 2026. So we will accelerate the growth a little bit. And for that, we have signed a contract with Young Boys. It is very important to us because football is a good brand carrier and we think that Yuh goes very well with one of the most important and largest football club in Switzerland. And you see here a few pictures of our sponsorship agreement with Young Boys. And we are very excited, and we think this will be a great way of pushing the brand in Switzerland.

Speaker #2: Now about You, is our neobank that is now owned 100% by the Group. With 423,000 clients, we are the biggest neobank regulated in Switzerland.

Speaker #2: We still have a target of about 500,000 clients by the end of 2026, so we will accelerate the growth a little bit.

Speaker #2: But for that, we have signed a contract with Young Boys. It's very important to us because football is a good brand carrier. And we think that Young Boys goes very well with one of the most important and largest football clubs in Switzerland.

Marc Bürki: It is very important to us because football is a good brand carrier and we think that Yuh goes very well with one of the most important and largest football club in Switzerland. And you see here a few pictures of our sponsorship agreement with Young Boys. And we are very excited, and we think this will be a great way of pushing the brand in Switzerland. We are not sure whether we have to because the growth is coming by itself. But I said in the second half of 2026, we want to accelerate the growth and go beyond the 6% growth we had here from H2 2025 to H2 2026.

Speaker #2: And you see here a few pictures of our sponsorship agreement with Young Boys, and we're very excited. We think this will be a great way of pushing the brand in Switzerland.

Speaker #2: We're not sure whether we have to, because the growth is coming by itself. But as said, in the second half of 2026, we want to accelerate the growth and go beyond the 6% growth we had here from H2 2025 to H2 2026.

Marc Bürki: We are not sure whether we have to because the growth is coming by itself. But I said in the second half of 2026, we want to accelerate the growth and go beyond the 6% growth we had here from H2 2025 to H2 2026. Very important for us also is that we are not only getting clients, but we have clients that are bringing their assets and they are also investing in securities. And out of the 4 billion, you can see here on the left that about half of 54% is in cash. That is a very different picture from the one I showed you before, where the cash part represented only 15% overall for Swissquote. Yuh, of course, it is a payment app, so the cash percentage is much higher, 54%, and it is mainly in Swiss francs of course.

Speaker #2: Very important for us also is that we are not only getting clients, but we have clients who are bringing their assets and they are also investing in securities.

Marc Bürki: Very important for us also is that we are not only getting clients, but we have clients that are bringing their assets and they are also investing in securities. And out of the 4 billion, you can see here on the left that about half of 54% is in cash. That is a very different picture from the one I showed you before, where the cash part represented only 15% overall for Swissquote. Yuh, of course, it is a payment app, so the cash percentage is much higher, 54%, and it is mainly in Swiss francs of course.

Speaker #2: And out of the $4 billion, you can see here on the left that about half, or 54%, is in cash. That's a very different picture from the one I showed you before, where the cash part represented only 15% overall for Swissquote.

Speaker #2: Yes, of course, it's a payment app. So the cash percentage is much higher—54%. And it's mainly in Swiss francs, of course, as we are based in Switzerland.

Marc Bürki: We are based in Switzerland and most of our clients are Swiss, so up to 85% are in Swiss francs, the rest, 12% in euro and 3% only in US dollar. But on the right side, investment in securities represents 46%. So usually people do not transfer their securities directly to Yuh. They transfer the cash and then they invest in securities. And here you see the very nice evolution over time. That 4 billion, it is a very good number. Divided by the number of clients we have, this is this 9,500 average deposits per client, which if you compare this with N26, for example, you will see that this is much higher. So we have richer Yuh clients than the rest of Europe. And this is not surprising given the possibility and what you can do with our Yuh account.

Speaker #2: And most of our clients are Swiss. So, up to 85% are in Swiss francs, the rest: 12% in euro, and 3% only in US dollars.

Speaker #2: But on the right side, investments in securities represent 46%. So usually, people do not transfer their securities directly to you—they transfer the cash.

Speaker #2: And then they invest in securities. And here you see the very nice evolution over time. At $4 billion, it's a very good number.

Speaker #2: Divided by the number of clients we have, this is this 9,500 average deposit per client, which, if you compare this with N26, for example, you will see that this is much higher.

Speaker #2: So, we have richer new clients than the rest of Europe, and this is not surprising given the possibilities and what you can do with our new account.

Marc Bürki: So we have richer Yuh clients than the rest of Europe. And this is not surprising given the possibility and what you can do with our Yuh account. The headcounts on the left, speaking about Yuh, is that we have 64 people. They are now mainly located in Zurich, where we have our headquarter of Yuh. You see that the split is between customer care, that is the biggest part, 60%, and then products and marketing is 32%. All the operations and bank accounts are outsourced to Swissquote Bank. Yuh is not a bank, it is a neobank, but the banking activity as such is performed by Swissquote.

Speaker #2: The headcount on the left, speaking about you, is that we have 64 people. They are now mainly located in Zurich, where we have our headquarter of you.

Marc Bürki: The headcounts on the left, speaking about Yuh, is that we have 64 people. They are now mainly located in Zurich, where we have our headquarter of Yuh. You see that the split is between customer care, that is the biggest part, 60%, and then products and marketing is 32%. All the operations and bank accounts are outsourced to Swissquote Bank. Yuh is not a bank, it is a neobank, but the banking activity as such is performed by Swissquote. The things that we are very proud of is our AI agent. We call it Julia, and it is really working. It is actively used by our clients. You see here on the right side, the number of conversations that are now taking place with Julia. It is a very good figure for us because, of course, whenever you do a conversation with Julia, you may not call the call center.

Speaker #2: You see that the split is between customer care—that's the biggest part, at 60%—and then products and marketing at 32%. All the operations and bank accounts are outsourced to Swissquote Bank.

Speaker #2: You is not a bank. It's a neobank. But the banking activity, as such, is performed by Swissquote. Now, the thing that we are very proud of is our AI agent.

Marc Bürki: The things that we are very proud of is our AI agent. We call it Julia, and it is really working. It is actively used by our clients. You see here on the right side, the number of conversations that are now taking place with Julia. It is a very good figure for us because, of course, whenever you do a conversation with Julia, you may not call the call center.

Speaker #2: We call it Julia, and it's really working. It's actively used by our clients. And you see here on the right side the number of conversations that are now taking place with Julia.

Speaker #2: And it's a very good figure for us because, of course, whenever you have a conversation with Julia, you may not call the call center. Because with Julia, you can, of course, ask questions about the performance, about your portfolio.

Marc Bürki: Because with Julia, you can ask questions about the performance, about your portfolio, but you can also ask questions about general questions, customer support questions, and this, of course, is one call less in our call center each time our clients ask the question on Julia. It is the version 1. We will strongly develop our AI capacities there because, of course, we think this is the future, and we are just at the beginning of what AI can bring to such an ecosystem. We have a few slides on our balance sheet, and for that, I will give over to our CFO who is sitting next to me, Yvan.

Speaker #2: But you can also ask questions—general questions, customer support questions. And these, of course, mean one call less in our call center each time our clients ask the question on Julia.

Speaker #2: It's the version one that will strongly develop our AI capacities there because, of course, we think this is the future and we are just at the beginning of what AI can bring to such an ecosystem.

Speaker #2: Now we have a few slides on our balance sheet. And for that, I will hand over to our CFO, who is sitting next to me, Ivan.

Speaker #1: Yes, so a few words about the balance sheet. The balance sheet has continued to grow. In the first half, we can see that there was a 5% increase in the total balance sheet.

Yvan Cardenas: Yes. A few words about the balance sheet. The balance sheet has continued to grow. In H1, we can see that there was a 5% increase in the total balance sheet. We could increase the cash deposits of customers in all currencies, which is positive, in particular as interest rate expectations have changed as well during the period of time. I will highlight two particular categories. Loans, that are mainly Lombard loans. We have a +12% increase in Lombard loans. We see that the appetite of customers to invest this year, and a 12% growth in the 6 months, I think it is a positive development. We have continued to increase the investment securities portfolio. We use part of the balance sheet to lock duration. We could find nice opportunities, during H1 as interest rate expectations have been changing from time to time.

Speaker #1: So we could increase the cash deposits of customers in all currencies, which is positive. In particular, as interest rate expectations have changed as well during the period of time.

Speaker #1: I will highlight two particular Lombard loans. We have a plus 12% increase in Lombard loans, so we see that the appetite of customers to invest this year.

Speaker #1: And a 12% growth in the six months. I think it's a positive development. We have continued to increase the investment securities portfolio, so we use part of the balance sheet to lock a duration.

Yvan Cardenas: We have continued to increase the investment securities portfolio. We use part of the balance sheet to lock duration. We could find nice opportunities, during H1 as interest rate expectations have been changing from time to time. I think we have been good in selecting the right timing and the right time of opportunities. As Marc mentioned, interest income is over initial guidance, and we will most likely have a higher interest income in 2026 compared to 2025, which is as well a positive development. Last comment on the liabilities. You see the structured product business that we have.

Speaker #1: We could find nice opportunities during H1, as interest rate expectations have been changing from time to time. So, I think we've been good in selecting the right timing and the right type of opportunities.

Yvan Cardenas: I think we have been good in selecting the right timing and the right time of opportunities. As Marc mentioned, interest income is over initial guidance, and we will most likely have a higher interest income in 2026 compared to 2025, which is as well a positive development. Last comment on the liabilities. You see the structured product business that we have. We as well issue our own structured products. You see that there is a 21% increase, so it is growing. We could see before that structured products represent something like 5% of net revenues. These are popular products in Switzerland, and the volume efficiency is growing positively. Total assets, we are at CHF 16.9 billion at the end of June, so very close to the limit to be classified as a Category 3 bank.

Speaker #1: As noted by the market, interest income is above initial guidance, and we will most likely have higher interest income in 2026 compared to 2025, which is also a positive development.

Speaker #1: Last comment on the liabilities. You see the structured product business that we have. So we as well issue our own structured product business, our own structured products and you see that there is a 21% increase.

Yvan Cardenas: We as well issue our own structured products. You see that there is a 21% increase, so it is growing. We could see before that structured products represent something like 5% of net revenues. These are popular products in Switzerland, and the volume efficiency is growing positively. Total assets, we are at CHF 16.9 billion at the end of June, so very close to the limit to be classified as a Category 3 bank. You can imagine that the 17 have been most likely crossed in July when you look at the growth of the balance sheet in H1.

Speaker #1: So, it's growing. We could see before that structured products represent something like 5% of net revenues. These are popular products in Switzerland, and the volume of issuance is growing positively.

Speaker #1: Total assets were at $16.9 billion at the end of June, so very close to the limit to be classified as a Category Three bank.

Speaker #1: You can imagine that the 17 have most likely been crossed in July, when you look at the growth of the balance sheet in H1.

Yvan Cardenas: You can imagine that the 17 have been most likely crossed in July when you look at the growth of the balance sheet in H1. Most likely, as I mentioned in the communiqué de presse, we should be classified in H2 as a Category 3 bank. If we move to the next slide, this is a usual slide that we propose on every conference. Again, volumes are higher than initially expected. Interest rates have developed better than initially expected. Swiss franc remained flat. We think that Swiss franc will remain flat in H2. Interest rates in USD have not decreased. That was what the initial guidance expected. They remain relatively stable, and we had a hike on euro interest rates. The positive aspect on the interest income is that interest income is likely to be higher in 2026 compared to 2025.

Speaker #1: So, most likely, as I mentioned in the press release, we should be classified in H2 as a category three bank. If we move to the next slide, this is a usual slide that we propose at every conference.

Yvan Cardenas: Most likely, as I mentioned in the communiqué de presse, we should be classified in H2 as a Category 3 bank. If we move to the next slide, this is a usual slide that we propose on every conference. Again, volumes are higher than initially expected. Interest rates have developed better than initially expected. Swiss franc remained flat. We think that Swiss franc will remain flat in H2. Interest rates in USD have not decreased. That was what the initial guidance expected. They remain relatively stable, and we had a hike on euro interest rates.

Speaker #1: Again, volumes are higher than initially expected. Interest rates have developed better than initially expected. The Swiss franc remained flat. We think that the Swiss franc will remain flat in H2.

Speaker #1: Interest rates in USD have not decreased—that was what the initial guidance expected. They remain relatively stable, and we had a hike on euro interest rates.

Speaker #1: So the positive aspect on the interest income is that interest income is likely to be higher in 2026 compared to 2025. And we will enter 2027 most likely with higher rates than we entered 2026.

Yvan Cardenas: The positive aspect on the interest income is that interest income is likely to be higher in 2026 compared to 2025. We will enter 2027, most likely with higher rates than we entered 2026, which was something that we were not expecting. At the same time, the margin lending portfolio and the investment securities have continued to grow, so we could as well secure interest income for the future.

Yvan Cardenas: We will enter 2027, most likely with higher rates than we entered 2026, which was something that we were not expecting. At the same time, the margin lending portfolio and the investment securities have continued to grow, so we could as well secure interest income for the future.

Speaker #1: Which was something that we were not expecting. At the same time, the margin lending portfolio and the investment securities have continued to grow, so we could as well secure interest income for the future.

Speaker #2: Okay. Thank you, Ivan. Last slide.

Marc Bürki: Okay. Thank you, Yvan. Last slide.

Speaker #1: Yes. So, on the equity side, I will say no major change. The capital ratio remains solid and relatively stable. You can see that the equity has not grown much.

Yvan Cardenas: Yes. On the equity side, I would say, no major change. Capital ratio remains solid and relatively stable. You can see that the equity has not grown much. This is mainly explained by two items. One, the dividend payment that we paid during H1, in accordance with our dividend policy. As well, you can see that we slightly increased the portfolio of treasury shares that we have. We have invested something like CHF 55 to 60 million in treasury shares in H1. We are now above 3% of the share capital. So overall, the equity remains solid, stable, and no particular change in the capital ratio.

Speaker #1: This is mainly explained by two items. While the dividend payment that we paid during H1 was in accordance with our dividend policy, you can also see that we slightly increased the portfolio of treasury shares that we have.

Speaker #1: We've invested something like CHF 55 to 60 million in treasury shares in H1. We are now at about 3% of the share capital. So overall, the equity remained solid, stable, and there was no particular change in the capital ratio.

Speaker #2: Okay, thank you. And I'm coming back to comment a little bit on our investments in AI. So, as we mentioned many times, we think that AI will change the way we do banking.

Marc Bürki: Okay, thank you. I am coming back to comment a little bit our investment in AI. As we mentioned many times, we think that AI will change the way we do banking. We also think that we are better prepared than other banks because we have developed a sovereign infrastructure at Swissquote. We have invested in technology, we have invested in systems, we have invested in people. If I should give a number, over the last 18 months, we have probably invested about CHF 30 million in our AI capacity with staff and CapEx. What are we doing with those investments? We have the four pillars that you can see here on this slide. The first one, which is kind of obvious, this is the client interaction automatization. I already mentioned Julia before that, but we also have chatbot developments for Swissquote.

Speaker #2: We also think that we are better prepared than other banks because we have developed sovereign infrastructure at Swissquote. We have invested in technology and systems.

Speaker #2: We have invested in people. To give you a number, over the last 18 months, we have probably invested about $30 million in our AI capacity.

Speaker #2: With staff, and with staff and CapEx—so what are we doing with those investments? We have the four pillars that you can see here on this slide.

Marc Bürki: What are we doing with those investments? We have the four pillars that you can see here on this slide. The first one, which is kind of obvious, this is the client interaction automatization. I already mentioned Julia before that, but we also have chatbot developments for Swissquote. When you want to go in contact with our agents, you have the possibility to address the issue you may have with our chatbot. It is an AI chatbot. It is very different from the previous chatbots you could see. It is working well. We have above 70% of the feedback to rate the conversation they have with the chatbot as good.

Speaker #2: The first one, which is kind of obvious, is the client interaction automatization. So, I already mentioned Julia before that, but we also have chatbot developments for Swissquote.

Speaker #2: So, when you want to get in contact with our agents, you have the possibility to address the issue you may have with our chatbot.

Marc Bürki: When you want to go in contact with our agents, you have the possibility to address the issue you may have with our chatbot. It is an AI chatbot. It is very different from the previous chatbots you could see. It is working well. We have above 70% of the feedback to rate the conversation they have with the chatbot as good. Meaning that the issue is solved, and we are, of course, working hard to develop the phase 2 of our chatbot. This is due to be delivered in December 2026. Then internally, AI-assisted software development. It first shows that we have a potential of 25% to 30% reduction in development cycle time. That is very important for us. We are pushing our engineers to use AI as a tool. It is not automatic. You first have to organize your network. You have to organize the software.

Speaker #2: So, it's an AI chatbot. It's very different from the previous chatbots you have seen. It's working well. We have above 70% of the feedback rating the conversations they have with the chatbot as good.

Speaker #2: So, meaning that the issue is solved. And we are, of course, working hard to develop phase two of our chatbot.

Marc Bürki: Meaning that the issue is solved, and we are, of course, working hard to develop the phase 2 of our chatbot. This is due to be delivered in December 2026. Then internally, AI-assisted software development. It first shows that we have a potential of 25% to 30% reduction in development cycle time. That is very important for us. We are pushing our engineers to use AI as a tool. It is not automatic. You first have to organize your network. You have to organize the software. You have to acquire a license, and then you have to train your people to use the AI capacity. But we really think this is the future.

Speaker #2: This is due to be delivered in December 2026. Then, internally, AI-assisted software development—so it first shows that we have the potential for a 25% to 30% reduction in development cycle time.

Speaker #2: So that is why it's very important for us. We are pushing our engineers to use AI as a tool. It's not automatic—you have to first organize your network.

Speaker #2: You have to organize your software, you have to acquire a license, and then you have to train your people to use the AI capacity. But we really think this is the future.

Marc Bürki: You have to acquire a license, and then you have to train your people to use the AI capacity. But we really think this is the future. We really also think that we will reach full AI maturity in our development staff by 2027, 2028. By then, we think that AI has the capacity of doubling or tripling the productivity. This means that we will be able to bring new softwares and solution to work three times faster to the market. It is not free of charge. It is really a dedicated investment in people, technology, infrastructure, and we think that we are very well prepared and organized for this AI change that will affect, as you know, many industries in many different sectors. Then one very important element for us is the, we call it payment intelligence. It is related to the monitoring of everything that is happening on our accounts.

Speaker #2: We also believe that we will reach full AI maturity in our development staff by 2027 or 2028. By then, we think that AI will have the capacity to double or even triple productivity.

Marc Bürki: We really also think that we will reach full AI maturity in our development staff by 2027, 2028. By then, we think that AI has the capacity of doubling or tripling the productivity. This means that we will be able to bring new softwares and solution to work three times faster to the market. It is not free of charge. It is really a dedicated investment in people, technology, infrastructure, and we think that we are very well prepared and organized for this AI change that will affect, as you know, many industries in many different sectors.

Speaker #2: This means that we will be able to bring new software and solutions to work three times faster to the market. It's not free of charge.

Speaker #2: It's really a dedicated investment in people, technology, and infrastructure, and we think that we are very well prepared and organized for these AI changes that will affect, as you know, many industries in many different sectors.

Speaker #2: Then, one very important element for us is what we call payment intelligence. It's related to the monitoring of everything that is happening on our account.

Marc Bürki: Then one very important element for us is the, we call it payment intelligence. It is related to the monitoring of everything that is happening on our accounts. We now have 100% AI coverage. Each time you do a payment or you do a transaction, we have the capacity of monitoring these transactions using AI tools. We have developed many tools to do this, and there is one specific development, we call it Diego internally. We think that this AI agent will be a breakthrough software solution to secure the transactions.

Speaker #2: So, we now have 100% AI coverage. Each time you make a payment or complete a transaction, we have the capacity to monitor these transactions using AI tools.

Marc Bürki: We now have 100% AI coverage. Each time you do a payment or you do a transaction, we have the capacity of monitoring these transactions using AI tools. We have developed many tools to do this, and there is one specific development, we call it Diego internally. We think that this AI agent will be a breakthrough software solution to secure the transactions. You are aware that we are in a market that is challenged by fraudulent activities, account takeovers, mule accounts, and banks like us do need to invest in technology to secure completely this part of their business. They also now have tools that are very advanced and using frontier technologies to secure our banking activity. Then last but not least, for the product. These are the product-facing tools. If you are a client of Swissquote, you have certainly noticed a lot of changes.

Speaker #2: So, we have developed many tools to do this, and there's one specific development—we call it Diego internally. We think that this AI agent will be breakthrough software.

Speaker #2: Solution to secure the transactions. You're aware that we are in a market that is challenged by fraudulent activities. Account takeovers, mule accounts, and banks like us do need to invest in technology to secure completely the part of their business.

Marc Bürki: You are aware that we are in a market that is challenged by fraudulent activities, account takeovers, mule accounts, and banks like us do need to invest in technology to secure completely this part of their business. They also now have tools that are very advanced and using frontier technologies to secure our banking activity. Then last but not least, for the product. These are the product-facing tools. If you are a client of Swissquote, you have certainly noticed a lot of changes. We have developed widgets that do analyze stocks with AI capacities. We have developed many different tools.

Speaker #2: And they're also now have tools that are very advanced and using frontier technologies to secure our banking activity. And then last but not least for the products, so these are the product facing tools.

Speaker #2: If you are a client of Swissquote, you have certainly noticed a lot of changes. We have developed widgets that analyze stocks using AI capabilities.

Marc Bürki: We have developed widgets that do analyze stocks with AI capacities. We have developed many different tools. We expect a lot of new things to come and tools that are very advanced for our clients. Now revised guidance 2026. Again, we haven't been very creative to have a full guidance for 2026. We basically took what happened in H1, and we doubled it, and this is the results for the full year. Now, the latest guidance, CHF 730 million and 365 pre-tax profit margin for 2026. A little bit on the conservative side, I have to say, especially given the lackluster trading activity in crypto. At least this is something we know that we can achieve in 2026, and so we'd rather stay there a little bit conservative. I've mentioned it before, we haven't changed anything on our guidance 2028.

Speaker #2: And we have developed many different tools, and this is where we expect a lot of new things to come, and tools that are very advanced for our clients.

Marc Bürki: We expect a lot of new things to come and tools that are very advanced for our clients. Now revised guidance 2026. Again, we haven't been very creative to have a full guidance for 2026. We basically took what happened in H1, and we doubled it, and this is the results for the full year. Now, the latest guidance, CHF 730 million and 365 pre-tax profit margin for 2026. A little bit on the conservative side, I have to say, especially given the lackluster trading activity in crypto. At least this is something we know that we can achieve in 2026, and so we'd rather stay there a little bit conservative.

Speaker #2: Now, revised guidance for 2026. So again, we haven't been very creative to have a full-year guidance for 2026. We basically took what happened in H1 and we doubled it, and this is the result for the full year.

Speaker #2: Now the latest guidance: 730 million and 365 pre-tax profit margin for 2026. A little bit on the conservative side, I have to say, especially given the lackluster trading activity in crypto.

Speaker #2: But at least this is something we know that we can achieve in 2026, and so we would rather stay there, a little bit conservative. So, I've mentioned it before.

Marc Bürki: I've mentioned it before, we haven't changed anything on our guidance 2028. We still think that we can do half a billion pre-tax profit in 2028. We are reassured by our growth pattern that is unchanged in the first half of 2026. We're quite confident that we can achieve revenues of CHF 900 million with a pre-tax of CHF 500 million in 2028. A look on the margin on assets here. Not much to comment here on these slides. You've certainly seen it. Those are classic in our presentation in 2026. Maybe, Yves, you want to say something on that?

Speaker #2: We haven't changed anything on our guidance for 2028. We still think that we can do half a million pre-tax profit in 2028. We are reassured by our gross pattern, which is unchanged in the first half of 2026.

Marc Bürki: We still think that we can do half a billion pre-tax profit in 2028. We are reassured by our growth pattern that is unchanged in the first half of 2026. We're quite confident that we can achieve revenues of CHF 900 million with a pre-tax of CHF 500 million in 2028. A look on the margin on assets here. Not much to comment here on these slides. You've certainly seen it. Those are classic in our presentation in 2026. Maybe, Yves, you want to say something on that?

Speaker #2: So, we're quite confident that we can achieve revenues of 900 million, with a pre-tax of 500 million in 2028. A look at the margin on assets here.

Speaker #2: Not much to comment here on these slides. You've certainly seen it. Those are classic in our presentation in 2026. Maybe Yvonne, you want to say something on that?

Speaker #1: Oh, yes. It's more to basically help to understand how we see the distribution of the net revenues. And now, with the revised guidance, obviously, I think if we compare...

Yvan Cardenas: No, yes, it's more to basically help to understand how we see the distribution of the net revenues. Now with the revised guidance, obviously, I think if we will compare

Speaker #3: Ladies and gentlemen, please hold the line. The connection with the speakers has been lost. The conference will continue shortly. Thank you.

Operator 2: Ladies and gentlemen, please hold the line. The connection with the speakers has been lost. The conference will continue shortly. Thank you.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, please hold the line. The connection with the speakers has been lost. The conference will continue shortly. Thank you.

Speaker #1: Okay, well, sorry about that. We have been kicked out of our presentation for whatever reason, so we don't know exactly where the disconnect happened.

Marc Bürki: Well, sorry about that. We have been kicked out of our presentation for whatever reason. We do not know exactly where the disconnect happens, but I will restart from the revised guidance 2026. As I mentioned, I am not sure whether you could hear me, is that the revised guidance for 2026 is based on doubling the H1 2026 figures. We have not been very creative there. We just have taken our numbers, and we multiply this by two. A little bit on the conservative side, especially if you think that, for example, cryptocurrency could revive a little bit in the second half. But let us stay conservative. We know that we can achieve CHF 730 million of revenue in 2026 and CHF 365 million of pre-tax. That would be about the figures we achieved in 2025, if we take away the one-off on the profit side we had in 2025.

Speaker #1: But I will restart from the revised guidance for 2026. As I mentioned—I'm not sure whether you could hear me—the revised guidance for 2026 is based on doubling the H1 2026 figures.

Speaker #1: So we haven't been very creative there. We just have taken our numbers and multiplied them by two. It's a little bit on the conservative side, especially if you think that, for example, cryptocurrency could revive a little bit in the second half.

Speaker #1: But let's stay conservative. We know that we can achieve CHF 730 million of revenue in 2026 and CHF 365 million of pre-tax profit. That would be about the figures we achieved in 2025.

Marc Bürki: We know that we can achieve CHF 730 million of revenue in 2026 and CHF 365 million of pre-tax. That would be about the figures we achieved in 2025, if we take away the one-off on the profit side we had in 2025. Here, Yvan, maybe comment on marginal assets.

Speaker #1: If we take away the one-off on the profit side we had in 2025—and here, Yvonne maybe comments on marginal assets.

Marc Bürki: Here, Yvan, maybe comment on marginal assets.

Speaker #2: Yes. So here you have a bit more detail on how to compute the net revenue distribution, which we have now included in the revised guidance for 2026.

Yvan Cardenas: Yes. Here you have a bit of details to how compute the net revenues distribution that we have now included in the revised guidance 2026. Here you have a comparison between the new guidance and the previous years. I think what I could comment is the changes between the initial guidance and the revised guidance. You see that on interest income side of things, the situation is better than initially expected. We were expecting a decline in interest income in 2026 compared to 2025. Now we expect the interest income to be higher in 2026. There is a positive development on interest income. On the crypto assets, as many times commented during the conference, the environment was weaker than expected. There is a change compared to the initial guidance.

Speaker #2: So here you have a comparison between the new guidance and the previous years. I think what I could comment on are the changes between the initial guidance and the revised guidance.

Speaker #2: So you see that on the interest income side of things, the situation is better than initially expected. We were expecting a decline in interest income in 2026 compared to 2025.

Speaker #2: Now, we expect interest income to be higher in 2026, so there is a positive development on interest income. On the crypto assets, as mentioned several times during the conference, the environment was weaker than expected.

Yvan Cardenas: On the crypto assets, as many times commented during the conference, the environment was weaker than expected. There is a change compared to the initial guidance. We think there could be a recovery somewhere in 2026, but we, for the time being, do not rely much on it. Any recovery will probably not be early enough to compensate the delay we have on the crypto asset income. One last comment is about client assets.

Speaker #2: So, there is a change compared to the initial guidance. We think there could be a recovery somewhere in 2026. But, for the time being, do not rely too much on it.

Yvan Cardenas: We think there could be a recovery somewhere in 2026, but we, for the time being, do not rely much on it. Any recovery will probably not be early enough to compensate the delay we have on the crypto asset income. One last comment is about client assets. Having in mind the target of CHF 7 billion per year that we have, it means that with the current level of client assets, we could be very close to CHF 100 billion in 2026, which is significantly ahead of what we expected. On client assets, the positive aspect is we might be significantly ahead of plan at the end of 2026.

Speaker #2: And any recovery will probably not be early enough to compensate for the delay we have on the crypto asset income. One last comment is about client assets.

Speaker #2: So, having in mind the target of $7 billion per year that we have, it means that with the current level of client assets, we could be very close to $100 billion in 2026, which is significantly ahead of what we expected.

Yvan Cardenas: Having in mind the target of CHF 7 billion per year that we have, it means that with the current level of client assets, we could be very close to CHF 100 billion in 2026, which is significantly ahead of what we expected. On client assets, the positive aspect is we might be significantly ahead of plan at the end of 2026.

Speaker #2: So, on client assets, a positive aspect is that we might be significantly ahead of plan at the end of 2026.

Speaker #1: Okay, thank you, Yvonne. And I will just comment on a few slides in the appendix. First, this is something we look at very precisely: we want to know if the clients we hire, the new clients joining the system, are equally as profitable as the old clients.

Marc Bürki: Okay. Thank you, Yvan. I will just comment a few slides in the appendix. First, this is something we have a very precise look. We want to know if the clients we hire, the new clients joining the system, if they are equally as profitable as the old clients. You can see this here. Among the 797,000 Swissquote accounts, we had a growth of 7% in H1, and also 7% on the Yuh accounts. Now, this 7% transform into revenues, and you see here that with 7%, we made 4% of revenues. Why not 7%? Well, this is a normal distribution. Of course, the clients we hired on 30 June didn't have time to contribute to the figures. Normally you should expect these numbers divided by 2, so 3.5.

Speaker #1: And you can see this here. So among the 797,000 Swissquote accounts, we had a growth of 7% in the first half, and also 7% on the U accounts.

Speaker #1: Now, these 7% transform into revenues. And you see here that with 7%, we made 4% of revenues. Why not 7%? Well, this is a normal distribution.

Speaker #1: Of course, the clients we hired on the 30th of June didn't have time to contribute to the figures. So, normally, you should expect these numbers divided by two.

Marc Bürki: Normally you should expect these numbers divided by 2, so 3.5. You can see that in terms of revenue, it is a good number. So we have normally active new clients, a very stable figure there. About the market share, we try to measure our market share in Switzerland. This is a stable figure. First of all, you can see that the addressable market is growing. This is according to many studies we have seen. The addressable market for us in trillion is growing over time, and it has reached now 2 trillion. That is only for Switzerland, of course.

Speaker #1: So, 3.5. You can see that, in terms of revenue, it's a good number. We have normally active new clients—a very stable figure there.

Marc Bürki: You can see that in terms of revenue, it is a good number. So we have normally active new clients, a very stable figure there. About the market share, we try to measure our market share in Switzerland. This is a stable figure. First of all, you can see that the addressable market is growing. This is according to many studies we have seen. The addressable market for us in trillion is growing over time, and it has reached now 2 trillion. That is only for Switzerland, of course. The good news is that our market share is growing in a growing market. We now reach 3% overall market share in Switzerland. It also means that, first of all, we still have a high growth potential here in our home market in Switzerland.

Speaker #1: Regarding market share, we try to measure our market share in Switzerland. This is a stable figure. So, first of all, you can see that the addressable market is growing.

Speaker #1: So this is according to many studies we have seen. The addressable market for us, in trillions, is growing over time, and it has now reached $2 trillion.

Speaker #1: And that's only for Switzerland, of course. The good news is that our market share is growing in a growing market, so we now reach a 3% overall market share in Switzerland.

Marc Bürki: The good news is that our market share is growing in a growing market. We now reach 3% overall market share in Switzerland. It also means that, first of all, we still have a high growth potential here in our home market in Switzerland. We are growing our market share, which really is basically good news. Now, a few last information about our development roadmap in H1 2026. First of all, we are very proud of having achieved a MiCA license that was very important to us as we have an active crypto business.

Speaker #1: So, this also means that, first of all, we still have a high growth potential here in our home market in Switzerland. And we are growing our market share, which really is basically good news.

Marc Bürki: We are growing our market share, which really is basically good news. Now, a few last information about our development roadmap in H1 2026. First of all, we are very proud of having achieved a MiCA license that was very important to us as we have an active crypto business. You know that now if you don't have a MiCA license in Europe, you are not able to provide cryptocurrency trading as of 1 July. Right in time, we have received our MiCA license. We have also developed the trading in silver, that has been very attractive lately. Of course, as mentioned before, we have developed a lot of new enhanced security features for our bank accounts. Okay, now a last look, and then we go to the Q&A session. There will be many occasions to meet us.

Speaker #1: Now, a few last pieces of information about our development roadmap in H1 2026. First of all, we're very proud of having achieved a CASP MICA license. That was very important to us, as we have an active crypto business.

Speaker #1: You know that now, if you don't have a MiCA license—a CASP MiCA license—in Europe, you're not able to provide cryptocurrency trading as of July 1st.

Marc Bürki: You know that now if you don't have a MiCA license in Europe, you are not able to provide cryptocurrency trading as of 1 July. Right in time, we have received our MiCA license. We have also developed the trading in silver, that has been very attractive lately. Of course, as mentioned before, we have developed a lot of new enhanced security features for our bank accounts. Okay, now a last look, and then we go to the Q&A session. There will be many occasions to meet us.

Speaker #1: And right on time, we have received our CASP MiCA license. We have also developed trading in silver, which has been very attractive lately.

Speaker #1: And of course, as mentioned before, we have developed a lot of new enhanced security features on our for our bank, for our bank accounts.

Speaker #1: Okay. Now, a last look, and then we go to the Q&A session. There will be many occasions to meet us. We are present at the UBS Best of Switzerland Conference.

Marc Bürki: We are present at the UBS Best of Switzerland Conference, and then also in September 2023, we have the Bank of America Annual Financial CEO Conference. We will be at the Stifel Swiss Equity Conference, and then on 18 March, we will have already the presentation of our full-year results for 2026. Thank you for joining us here this morning. I guess we have now time for a few questions.

Speaker #1: And then also in September 2023, we have the Bank of America Annual Financial CEO Conference. We will be at the CETCAB Swiss Equity Conference as well.

Speaker #1: And then, on March 18, we will already have the presentation of our full-year results for 2026. So, thank you for joining us here this morning.

Speaker #1: I guess we have no time for a few questions.

Speaker #3: We will now begin the question-and-answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their telephone. You will hear a tone to confirm that you have entered the queue.

Operator 2: We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their telephone. You will hear a tone to confirm that you have entered a queue. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Questioners on the phone are requested to disable the loudspeaker mode and eventually turn up the volume from the webcast while asking a question. Webcast viewers may submit their questions in writing via the relative field. In the interest of time, and to allow as many participants as possible to ask questions, we kindly ask that each participant limit their questions to two. This shall apply to questions asked by phone and to written questions. The first question comes from Haley Tam from UBS. Please go ahead.

Operator: We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their telephone. You will hear a tone to confirm that you have entered a queue. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Questioners on the phone are requested to disable the loudspeaker mode and eventually turn up the volume from the webcast while asking a question. Webcast viewers may submit their questions in writing via the relative field.

Speaker #3: If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Questioners on the phone are requested to disable loudspeaker mode.

Speaker #3: And eventually, please turn off the volume from the webcast while asking a question. Webcast viewers may submit their questions in writing via the relevant field.

Speaker #3: In the interest of time, and to allow as many participants as possible to ask questions, we kindly ask that each participant limit their questions to two.

Operator: In the interest of time, and to allow as many participants as possible to ask questions, we kindly ask that each participant limit their questions to two. This shall apply to questions asked by phone and to written questions. The first question comes from Haley Tam from UBS. Please go ahead.

Speaker #3: This shall apply to questions asked by phone and to written questions. The first question comes from Tam Haley from UBS. Please go ahead.

Speaker #4: Good morning. Thank you very much for taking my questions. Haley Tam from UBS. My two questions then, please. Firstly, the 2028 targets—I think you've been very clear about those.

Haley Tam: Good morning. Thank you very much for taking my questions. Haley Tam from UBS. My two questions then, please. Firstly, the 2028 targets. I think you've been very clear about those. That is very strong growth. If we apply 2026 guidance, it would be 17%, I think, every year in pre-tax profit over the next two years. Could you confirm for us what your assumption is for crypto as a percentage of that 2028 target? My second question in terms of the net new money, very strong, CHF 5.1 billion. I think you've consistently beaten that CHF 7 billion target now for three years, I think. Was there anything unusual about the H1? Was there something in the Middle East or the Dubai flows that were elevated?

Speaker #4: I mean, that is very strong growth if we apply the 2026 guidance to be 17%. I think every year in pre-tax profit over the next two years.

Speaker #4: Could you confirm for us what your assumption is for crypto as a percentage of the 2028 target? And then my second question, in terms of the net new money: very strong, $5.1 billion.

Speaker #4: I think you've consistently beaten that 7 billion target now for three years, I think. Was there anything unusual about the H1? Was there something in the Middle East or the Dubai flows that were elevated?

Haley Tam: Was there anything unusual about the H1? Was there something in the Middle East or the Dubai flows that were elevated? I know there's usually an H1, H2 seasonality, but just trying to understand how we should think about this sort of level of flow going forwards beyond 2026. Thank you.

Speaker #4: I know there's usually an H1, H2 seasonality, but I'm just trying to understand how we should think about this level of flow going forward, beyond 2026.

Haley Tam: I know there's usually an H1, H2 seasonality, but just trying to understand how we should think about this sort of level of flow going forwards beyond 2026. Thank you.

Speaker #4: Thank you.

Speaker #1: Okay, thank you. I'll take the second question and give the first one to you all. So, for the second question, I think it's true that the Middle East helped a little bit.

Marc Bürki: Okay. Thank you. I take the second questions and give the first one to Johan. For the second questions, I think it's true that the Middle East helps a little bit, but not massively. Actually, you can see here the uptick in the net new money was at half a billion, CHF 587.3 million to be precise, and that's higher than the previous half years. This really is due to the situation in the Middle East where people or expats, they try to put their money offshore, and this helped a little bit. But of course, compared to the CHF 587 million to the CHF 5.1 billion, so this is only 10%. So really the growth is coming from our main jurisdictions where we are, which is Switzerland and Europe.

Speaker #1: But not massively. Actually, you can see here the uptick in the net new money was at half a billion—$587.3 million to be precise.

Speaker #1: And that's higher than the previous half-years. And this really is due to the situation in the Middle East, where people or expats there tried to put their money offshore.

Speaker #1: And this helped a little bit. But of course, compared to the 587 million to the 5.1 billion, this is only 10%. So really, the growth is coming from our main jurisdictions, which are Switzerland and Europe.

Marc Bürki: So really the growth is coming from our main jurisdictions where we are, which is Switzerland and Europe.

Speaker #2: Yes. So, to comment on 2028 and perhaps to add on to what Mark had just mentioned, Haley, I think that, well, we have, let's say, unfortunate crypto volatility in H1.

Yvan Cardenas: Yes. To comment on 2028 and perhaps to add on what Marc just mentioned, Haley, I think that, well, we have, let's say, unfortunate crypto volatility in H1. On the other side, what is interesting is to connect this trend with the level of net new money. We are near record levels. The record was last year, in H1 last year, when we had a strong momentum on crypto assets. Then I think what H1 has demonstrated is, while there is a diversification in the business model, while we could not more than compensate, we could compensate this decline in crypto assets. But there is a low correlation between the capability of the group to acquire new customers and cryptos. I think this is something that was a bit challenged back on time, is how much Swissquote is relying on crypto momentum to acquire new customers.

Speaker #2: On the other side, what is interesting is to connect this trend with the level of net new money. We are near record levels. The record was in H1 last year, when we had strong momentum on crypto assets.

Speaker #2: And when I think what H1 has demonstrated is, well, there is a diversification in the business model. Well, we could not more than compensate.

Speaker #2: We could compensate for this decline in crypto assets, but there is a low correlation between the capability of the group to acquire new customers and cryptos.

Yvan Cardenas: But there is a low correlation between the capability of the group to acquire new customers and cryptos. I think this is something that was a bit challenged back on time, is how much Swissquote is relying on crypto momentum to acquire new customers. Now we see that we could most likely, 3 years in a row, overachieve net new money's targets, whatever crypto environment. From my CFO perspective, this is something extremely positive as a learning lesson from H1 is, while even with a very weak environment of cryptos, we are very close to record levels of client acquisition.

Speaker #2: And I think this is something that was a bit challenged back on time, is how much Swissquote is relying on crypto momentum to acquire new customers.

Speaker #2: And now we see that we could most likely, three years in a row, overachieve net new money targets, whatever the crypto environment. And from my CFO perspective, you know, this is something extremely positive. As a learning lesson from H1 as well, even with a very weak environment for cryptos, we were very close to record levels of client acquisition.

Yvan Cardenas: Now we see that we could most likely, 3 years in a row, overachieve net new money's targets, whatever crypto environment. From my CFO perspective, this is something extremely positive as a learning lesson from H1 is, while even with a very weak environment of cryptos, we are very close to record levels of client acquisition. Now to come back to your question on 2028. While we remain confident and we think that the assumptions are intact, mainly because of what I have just been mentioning. If I remember the assumption that we have published back in the early 2025 for the guidance, supporting the guidance 2028, the first key assumption was net new money, CHF 7 billion per year of net new money. We will most likely over-deliver 3 years in a row. So we over-delivered in 2024, in 2025, and most likely in 2026.

Speaker #2: Now, to come back to your question on 2028, well, we remain confident and we think that the assumptions are intact, mainly because of what I've just been mentioning.

Yvan Cardenas: Now to come back to your question on 2028. While we remain confident and we think that the assumptions are intact, mainly because of what I have just been mentioning. If I remember the assumption that we have published back in the early 2025 for the guidance, supporting the guidance 2028, the first key assumption was net new money, CHF 7 billion per year of net new money. We will most likely over-deliver 3 years in a row. So we over-delivered in 2024, in 2025, and most likely in 2026. I think the worst will have been to have a slowdown in client acquisition.

Speaker #2: If I remember the assumptions that we published back in early 2025 for the guidance supporting the 2028 outlook, the first key assumption was net new money.

Speaker #2: $7 billion per year of net new money. We will most likely overdeliver three years in a row. So we overdelivered in 2024, in 2025, and most likely in 2026.

Yvan Cardenas: I think the worst will have been to have a slowdown in client acquisition. So this one, I think we are very comfortable, and most likely we will over-deliver on the level of client assets. We cannot predict market impact, but we could easily be at least CHF 10 billion above the initial level of client assets forecasted for 2028. This will help to compensate if we have a bit of pressure on the revenue margin on assets. As well on the mix of revenues. The mix of revenues was 60% transaction-based, 40% non-transaction based. We see that we are now already at this level. It is even a better mix than we initially targeted for 2028. This is certainly supported by interest rates, and interest rates are basically staying much longer high than we initially expected.

Speaker #2: And you know, I think the worst would have been to have a slowdown in client acquisition. So on this one, I think we are very comfortable.

Yvan Cardenas: So this one, I think we are very comfortable, and most likely we will over-deliver on the level of client assets. We cannot predict market impact, but we could easily be at least CHF 10 billion above the initial level of client assets forecasted for 2028. This will help to compensate if we have a bit of pressure on the revenue margin on assets. As well on the mix of revenues. The mix of revenues was 60% transaction-based, 40% non-transaction based. We see that we are now already at this level. It is even a better mix than we initially targeted for 2028.

Speaker #2: And most likely, we will overdeliver on the level of client assets. We cannot predict market impact, but we could easily be at least $10 billion above the initial level of client assets forecasted for 2028.

Speaker #2: And this will help to compensate if we have a bit of pressure on the revenue margin on assets. As well, on the mix of revenues, the mix of revenues was 60% transaction-based, 40% non-transaction-based.

Speaker #2: We see that we are now already at this level. It's even a better mix than we initially targeted for 2028. This is certainly supported by interest rates.

Yvan Cardenas: This is certainly supported by interest rates, and interest rates are basically staying much longer high than we initially expected. We will provide probably more information with the full-year results 2026, but our confidence comes to the fact that the critical assumptions for 2028, they are intact, and we most likely are over-delivering. But for sure, in 2026, we have a short-term volatility. But this, we knew it. We never expected the journey to 2028 to be linear. We knew we could face more adverse scenarios. We could face a short-term volatility.

Speaker #2: And interest rates are basically staying much higher for longer than we initially expected. So, we'll provide probably more information with the full-year results in 2026, but our confidence comes from the fact that the critical assumptions for 2028 are intact, and we are most likely overdelivering.

Yvan Cardenas: We will provide probably more information with the full-year results 2026, but our confidence comes to the fact that the critical assumptions for 2028, they are intact, and we most likely are over-delivering. But for sure, in 2026, we have a short-term volatility. But this, we knew it. We never expected the journey to 2028 to be linear. We knew we could face more adverse scenarios. We could face a short-term volatility. But what we have tried to do is to protect the most critical underlying assumption. On the level of crypto assets for 2028, initially, we had in mind they could represent 10% of the CHF 950 million. This is something that we will update with the full-year results. I think that while we could challenge the ability of Swissquote to reach this 10% with crypto assets, I think it is still feasible, easily feasible.

Speaker #2: But for sure, in 2026, we have short-term volatility. But this we knew. I mean, we never expected the journey to 2028 to be linear.

Speaker #2: We knew we could face more adverse scenarios. We could face short-term volatility. But what we have tried to do is protect the most critical underlying assumptions.

Yvan Cardenas: But what we have tried to do is to protect the most critical underlying assumption. On the level of crypto assets for 2028, initially, we had in mind they could represent 10% of the CHF 950 million. This is something that we will update with the full-year results. I think that while we could challenge the ability of Swissquote to reach this 10% with crypto assets, I think it is still feasible, easily feasible. On the other side, the share of interest income could probably higher than initially expected.

Speaker #2: On the level of crypto assets for 2028, initially we had in mind they could represent 10% of the 950 million. This is something that we'll update with the full-year results.

Speaker #2: I think that, well, we could challenge the ability of Swissquote to reach this 10% with crypto assets. I think it's still feasible—easily feasible.

Speaker #2: On the other side, you know, the share of interest income could probably be higher than initially expected. So, I think one could compensate the other, and we see at the same time that we have new revenue streams growing—structured products and securities lending.

Yvan Cardenas: On the other side, the share of interest income could probably higher than initially expected. I think one could compensate each other, and we see at the same time that we have new revenue streams growing, structured products, securities lending. We have initiatives that should as well help and should be significant in 2028 compared to 2026.

Yvan Cardenas: I think one could compensate each other, and we see at the same time that we have new revenue streams growing, structured products, securities lending. We have initiatives that should as well help and should be significant in 2028 compared to 2026.

Speaker #2: So we have initiatives that should also help and should be significant in 2028 compared to 2026.

Speaker #3: That's very helpful. Thank you.

Haley Tam: That's very helpful. Thank you.

Speaker #1: Thank you.

Yvan Cardenas: Thank you.

Marc Bürki: Thank you.

Speaker #3: The next question comes from Christoph Diefert from BNP Paribas. Please go ahead.

Operator 2: The next question comes from Christoph Miehe from BNP Paribas. Please go ahead.

Operator: The next question comes from Christoph Miehe from BNP Paribas. Please go ahead.

Speaker #4: Good morning, and thank you for taking my questions. The first one is on net interest income. Your NII guidance basically implies a decline in the second half versus H1.

Christoph Miehe: Good morning, and thank you for taking my questions. The first one is on net interest income. Your NII guidance basically implies a decline in H2 versus H1. If you could share the underlying assumptions with us, this would be helpful. The second question is on crypto. You have been highlighting a CHF 5 million on crypto inventories in the half-year report. If you could help us better understanding your market-making activities and the remaining value at risk, this would be helpful. Thank you.

Christoph Blieffert: Good morning, and thank you for taking my questions. The first one is on net interest income. Your NII guidance basically implies a decline in H2 versus H1. If you could share the underlying assumptions with us, this would be helpful. The second question is on crypto. You have been highlighting a CHF 5 million on crypto inventories in the half-year report. If you could help us better understanding your market-making activities and the remaining value at risk, this would be helpful. Thank you.

Speaker #4: If you could share the underlying assumptions with us, this would be helpful. And the second question is on crypto. You have been highlighting a CHF 5 million loss on crypto inventories in the half-year report.

Speaker #4: If you could help us better understand your market-making activities and the remaining value at risk, this would be helpful. Thank you.

Speaker #2: Yes, Christoph, thanks for the very key questions that you're raising. So, the net interest income forecast is built by the CFO, and historically, I think the net interest income forecast is relatively conservative.

Yvan Cardenas: Yes, Christoph. Thanks for the very key questions that you are raising. The net interest income forecast is built by the CFO. Historically, I think the net interest income forecast is relatively conservative. I think the positive aspect is we expect interest income in 2026 to be higher than in 2025, and this was not what we initially expected. H1 was extremely positive. Balance sheet was growing. Interest rate expectations were volatile and changing, so we could capture good opportunities. In H2, interest rates could still continue to grow. There could be a hike in euros, in USD.

Speaker #2: So, I think the positive aspect is we expect interest income in 2026 to be higher than in 2025. And this was not what we initially expected.

Speaker #2: H1 was extremely positive. The balance sheet was growing. Interest rate expectations were volatile and changing, so we could also capture good opportunities. In H2, interest rates could still continue to grow; there could be a hike in euros.

Speaker #2: In USD, we have not bet on this increase, so we have assumed interest rates will remain flat in H2. And we have been slightly more conservative in the growth of the balance sheet.

Yvan Cardenas: We have not bet on these increases, so we have assumed interest rates to remain flat in H2, and we have been slightly more conservative in the growth of the balance sheet. At the same time, we know we have a few expirations in investment securities in H2, and we have been as well a bit conservative in our capability to renew these expirations at the existing rate. I think we have a good level of interest income for H2. This is much more than initially expected. Then, yes, for the time being, it is slightly below H1, but it is still an excellent number compared what we had in mind six months ago. The other question about the crypto assets, I think it is important to highlight it.

Speaker #2: At the same time, we know we have a few expirations in investment securities in H2, and we have also been a bit conservative in our capability to renew these expirations at the existing rate.

Speaker #2: So, I think we have a good level of interest income for H2. This is much more than initially expected. Then, yes, for the time being, it's slightly below.

Speaker #2: H1, but you know it's still an excellent number compared to what we had in mind six months ago. The other question about the crypto assets—I think it's important to highlight it.

Yvan Cardenas: The other question about the crypto assets, I think it is important to highlight it. We have reached more or less CHF 14 million of crypto assets income in H1 2026, but the level of brokerage was higher because we have this above CHF 5 million negative mark-to-market. This is sort of a one-off that is impacting the numbers. CHF 5 million is not significant when we look at overall net revenues, but it is significant when you do CHF 14 million of crypto asset income. Where does it come from? You know we have this increase crypto exchange.

Speaker #2: We have reached more or less CHF 14 million of crypto assets income in the first half of 2026. But the level of brokerage was higher because we have this above CHF 5 million negative mark-to-market.

Yvan Cardenas: We have reached more or less CHF 14 million of crypto assets income in H1 2026, but the level of brokerage was higher because we have this above CHF 5 million negative mark-to-market. This is sort of a one-off that is impacting the numbers. CHF 5 million is not significant when we look at overall net revenues, but it is significant when you do CHF 14 million of crypto asset income. Where does it come from? You know we have this increase crypto exchange. So in an exchange, you basically have sellers and buyers. You need liquidity. This liquidity is provided by market makers. What we do is we as well bridge our exchange with other exchanges. Could it be Coinbase, could it be other venues, other exchanges that are known in the market.

Speaker #2: This is sort of a one-off that is impacting the numbers. Five million is not significant when we look at overall net revenues, but it is significant when you do fourteen million of crypto asset income.

Speaker #2: Where does it come from? You know, we have this SQIS Crypto Exchange. So, in an exchange, you basically have sellers and buyers. You need liquidity.

Yvan Cardenas: So in an exchange, you basically have sellers and buyers. You need liquidity. This liquidity is provided by market makers. What we do is we as well bridge our exchange with other exchanges. Could it be Coinbase, could it be other venues, other exchanges that are known in the market. To ensure we always have the best bid ask spread across all these venues, we basically have our own internal market making technology that is here to bridge the liquidity from our exchange to another exchange. There is no way to bridge liquidity between two order books without basically bearing a certain risk.

Speaker #2: This liquidity is provided by market makers. But what we do is we also bridge our exchange with other exchanges. Could it be Coinbase?

Speaker #2: Could it be other venues, other exchanges that are known in the market? So, to ensure we always have the best bid-ask spread across all these venues, we basically have our own internal market-making technology.

Yvan Cardenas: To ensure we always have the best bid ask spread across all these venues, we basically have our own internal market making technology that is here to bridge the liquidity from our exchange to another exchange. There is no way to bridge liquidity between two order books without basically bearing a certain risk. The initial bid and half that we have on an exchange is provided by the Swissquote crypto inventory. When you offer 52 crypto asset platform, even if you would buy 100K, 200K for each crypto asset, basically it creates an inventory of around 5 to 10 million. This inventory is fair valued every time we close the books. Last year it was slightly positive. I think it was 2 million positive, but we did 85, it is not significant.

Speaker #2: That is here to bridge the liquidity from our exchange to another exchange. And there is no way to bridge liquidity between two order books without basically bearing a certain risk.

Speaker #2: So the initial bid and ask that we have on an exchange is provided by the Swissquote crypto inventory. And when you offer 52 crypto assets on the platform, even if you would buy $100,000, $200,000 for each crypto asset, basically it creates an inventory of around $5 to $10 million.

Yvan Cardenas: The initial bid and half that we have on an exchange is provided by the Swissquote crypto inventory. When you offer 52 crypto asset platform, even if you would buy 100K, 200K for each crypto asset, basically it creates an inventory of around 5 to 10 million. This inventory is fair valued every time we close the books. Last year it was slightly positive. I think it was 2 million positive, but we did 85, it is not significant. In H1, prices have decreased by 40% to 50%, and I am afraid then we had to recognize this negative mark-to-market that we are not forecasting to happen anymore in H2.

Speaker #2: And this inventory is fair-valued every time we close the books. So last year, it was slightly positive—you know, I think it was CHF 2 million positive.

Speaker #2: But we did 85. It's not significant. In H1, prices have decreased by 40 to 50 percent. And I'm afraid then we had to recognize this negative mark-to-market that we are not forecasting to happen anymore in H2.

Yvan Cardenas: In H1, prices have decreased by 40% to 50%, and I am afraid then we had to recognize this negative mark-to-market that we are not forecasting to happen anymore in H2. This is important when understanding the numbers we have forecasted for H2. The total value of this crypto inventory at the end of June is 8.9 million. This will be technically the maximum additional downside that we could face should the situation recover. Let us say should prices recover, we would probably have more volume activity and as well recover part of this unrealized mark-to-market. I hope it is clear enough, Christoph. I know it is a bit technical.

Speaker #2: And this is important when understanding the numbers we have forecasted for H2. The total value of this crypto inventory at the end of June is $8.9 million.

Yvan Cardenas: This is important when understanding the numbers we have forecasted for H2. The total value of this crypto inventory at the end of June is 8.9 million. This will be technically the maximum additional downside that we could face should the situation recover. Let us say should prices recover, we would probably have more volume activity and as well recover part of this unrealized mark-to-market. I hope it is clear enough, Christoph. I know it is a bit technical.

Speaker #2: So, this will be technically the maximum additional downside that we could face should the situation recover. Let's say, should prices recover, we will probably have more volume activity and, as well, recover part of this unrealized mark-to-market.

Speaker #2: I hope that's clear enough, Christoph. I know it's a bit technical.

Speaker #4: Very helpful. Thank you.

Marc Bürki: Very helpful. Thank you. Thank you. Then I would add that, of course, for the inventory to go down to zero would mean that the entire crypto market would go down to zero, which is not our baseline assumption. Okay, next question.

Christoph Blieffert: Very helpful. Thank you.

Speaker #2: Thank you. And then I would add that, of course, for the inventory to go down to zero would mean that the entire crypto market would go down to zero, which is not our baseline.

Marc Bürki: Thank you. Then I would add that, of course, for the inventory to go down to zero would mean that the entire crypto market would go down to zero, which is not our baseline assumption. Okay, next question.

Speaker #2: Okay. Next question.

Speaker #3: The next question comes from Daniel Ridley from Circa Cantonal Bank. Please go ahead.

Operator 2: The next question comes from Daniel Regli from Zuercher Kantonalbank. Please go ahead.

Operator: The next question comes from Daniel Regli from Zuercher Kantonalbank. Please go ahead.

Speaker #5: Hello, good morning, and thank you for having me for questions. I have basically two follow-up questions on previous questions from other analysts. One is on net new money.

Daniel Regli: Hello, good morning, and thanks for having me. For questions, I have basically two follow-up questions on previous questions from other analysts. One is on net new money. Obviously, last year we also had a very strong H1, and then the second half year was, let's say, more "normal." Should we expect kind of a similar seasonality this year, or was there anything which would lead you to assume that H1 could continue to be much stronger than H2? Or, is basically the jury is out for H2, and it could well be that we see another CHF 5 billion of net new money in H2. My second question is following up on the kind of CHF 500 million guidance for 2028 and the assumptions behind. Obviously, I think you originally had assumed a 90 bps margin on assets for this CHF 500 million.

Speaker #5: Obviously, last year we also had a very strong H1, and then the second half of the year was, let's say, more—quote unquote—normal. Should we expect kind of a similar seasonality this year, or was there anything which would lead you to assume that H1 could continue to be much stronger than H2? Or is it basically that the jury is out for H2, and it could well be that we see another 5 billion of net new money in H2?

Speaker #5: And then my second question is following up on the kind of 500 million guidance for 2028 and the assumptions behind it. Obviously, I think you originally had assumed a 90 bps margin on assets for this 500 million.

Daniel Regli: My second question is following up on the kind of CHF 500 million guidance for 2028 and the assumptions behind. Obviously, I think you originally had assumed a 90 bps margin on assets for this CHF 500 million. Can you just tell me, do you kind of still commit to this 90 bps longer term, or has this kind of changed, or have your assumptions changed in this regard?

Speaker #5: And can you just tell me, do you still kind of commit to this 90 bps longer term, or has this kind of changed, or have your assumptions changed in this regard?

Daniel Regli: Can you just tell me, do you kind of still commit to this 90 bps longer term, or has this kind of changed, or have your assumptions changed in this regard?

Speaker #2: Okay, thank you, Daniel. Very good question. So I’ll take the first one and you’ll take the second one. So, about the net new money, it’s true that we have a little bit of seasonality.

Marc Bürki: Okay. Thank you, Daniel. Very good question. I take the first one, and Maurice, you take the second one. About the net new money, it is true that we have a little bit of seasonality, but it is not systematic. In H2 2023, was less good than H1 2023, and then the situation completely reversed in 2024, where the second half was the strongest. In H1, it went in the other direction. So it is a little bit difficult to forecast. Sometimes it is a little bit market dependent, but I think, really the growth and especially the growth coming from Europe is pushing net new money. So we are anticipating good net new monies for 2026. Now whether it will be just the double, it is difficult to say.

Speaker #2: But it's not systematic. In H2 2023, it was less good than H1 2023. And then the situation completely reversed in 2024, where the second half was the strongest.

Speaker #2: In H1, it went in the other direction. So it's a little bit difficult to forecast; sometimes it's a little bit market-dependent. But I think really the growth, and especially the growth coming from Europe, is pushing this net new money.

Speaker #2: So, we are anticipating good net new monies for 2026. Now, whether it will be just the double, it's difficult to say. Our average forecast is that we will be able to reach half of what we are expecting for the year, the $7 billion.

Marc Bürki: So we are anticipating good net new monies for 2026. Now whether it will be just the double, it is difficult to say. Our average forecast is that we will be able to reach half of what we are expecting for the year, the CHF 7 billion, so that will be at least CHF 3.5 billion. So CHF 3.5 billion and CHF 5.1 billion, that would be at CHF 8.6 billion. That would be also a super good number, but that is probably the lowest number we can achieve. Potential good news there in the second half.

Marc Bürki: Our average forecast is that we will be able to reach half of what we are expecting for the year, the CHF 7 billion, so that will be at least CHF 3.5 billion. So CHF 3.5 billion and CHF 5.1 billion, that would be at CHF 8.6 billion. That would be also a super good number, but that is probably the lowest number we can achieve. Potential good news there in the second half.

Speaker #2: So that would be at least 3.5. So, 3.5 and 5.1—that would be at 8.6. That would also be a super good number. But that's probably the lowest number we can achieve.

Speaker #2: Potential good news there in the second half. On your question for 2020, Daniel: Currently, we stick to the 90 basis points. Why? Because we have—and will roll out—more and more products and services that are not necessarily related to the level of client assets.

Yvan Cardenas: On your question for 2020, Daniel. Currently, we stick to the 90 basis points. Why? Because we have, and we will roll out more products and services that are not necessarily related to the level of client assets, and Yuh will be helpful in this regard. So, 90 basis points remains the underlying assumption. I think when we look at mid-2026, I understand it could look challenging, but we have growing products, and we have more products and services that are not necessarily correlated with client assets. That being said, I think if somebody would be skeptical about the capabilities of Swissquote to reach 90 basis points, I think the level of client assets and the level of net humanization we have is likely to compensate in such a scenario. Basically, net revenues will be a function of client assets and revenue margin.

Speaker #2: And you will be helpful in this regard. So, 90 basis points remain. The underlying assumption, I think, when we look at mid-2026—I understand it could look challenging.

Speaker #2: But we have growing products, and we have as well more products and services that are not necessarily correlated with client assets. That being said, I think if somebody would be skeptical about the capabilities of Swissquote to reach 90 basis points, I think the level of client assets and the level of net new money we have is likely to compensate in such a scenario.

Yvan Cardenas: That being said, I think if somebody would be skeptical about the capabilities of Swissquote to reach 90 basis points, I think the level of client assets and the level of net humanization we have is likely to compensate in such a scenario. Basically, net revenues will be a function of client assets and revenue margin. You can over-deliver in client assets and slightly under-deliver on revenue margin, you may reach exactly the same number of net revenues.

Speaker #2: Basically, net revenues will be a function of client assets and revenue margin. So, you know, you can over-deliver on client assets and slightly under-deliver on revenue margin, and you may reach exactly the same number of net revenues.

Yvan Cardenas: You can over-deliver in client assets and slightly under-deliver on revenue margin, you may reach exactly the same number of net revenues.

Speaker #5: Okay, got it. Thanks a lot.

Marc Bürki: Okay, got it. Thanks a lot.

Daniel Regli: Okay, got it. Thanks a lot.

Speaker #3: The next question comes from Rene Locker from OWBHF. Please go ahead.

Operator 2: The next question comes from René Loker, from ODDO BHF. Please go ahead.

Operator: The next question comes from René Loker, from ODDO BHF. Please go ahead.

Speaker #5: Yes, good morning. I hope you can hear me well, thank you. So, a few questions, or two questions on cost or expenses. So, the first one, slide 22 marks.

René Loker: Yes. Good morning. I hope you can hear me well. Thank you. A few questions on, or two questions on costs or expenses. The first one, slide 22, Marc. I was wondering, have you already expensed the CHF 30 million investment in AI? That is my question. Because I saw an interview, I guess it was in "Banque." There you mentioned that you are going to spend CHF 30 million in AI, but over the period 2026 to 2028. Again, my question is, already expensed and now we get the benefits. That is my first question. The second one, also on expenses. I have got some pushbacks on operating leverage. If we dig a little bit deeper into operating expenses, I can see that depreciation is up quite heavily, and I assume that was depreciation of proprietary software. What was the reason here?

René Locher: Yes. Good morning. I hope you can hear me well. Thank you. A few questions on, or two questions on costs or expenses. The first one, slide 22, Marc. I was wondering, have you already expensed the CHF 30 million investment in AI? That is my question. Because I saw an interview, I guess it was in "Banque." There you mentioned that you are going to spend CHF 30 million in AI, but over the period 2026 to 2028. Again, my question is, already expensed and now we get the benefits. That is my first question. The second one, also on expenses. I have got some pushbacks on operating leverage.

Speaker #5: I was wondering, have you already expensed the $30 million investment in AI? That’s my question, because I saw an interview—I guess it was in a bank.

Speaker #5: There you mentioned that you're going to spend $30 million in AI, but over the period 2026 to 2028. So again, my question is: is it already expensed, and now we get the benefits?

Speaker #5: That's my first question. And the second one is also on expenses. I got some pushback on operating leverage. If we dig a little bit deeper into operating expenses...

René Locher: If we dig a little bit deeper into operating expenses, I can see that depreciation is up quite heavily, and I assume that was depreciation of proprietary software. What was the reason here? And also marketing expense was up 14%. Just wondering, was it the contract with the Young Boys? Thank you very much.

Speaker #5: I can see that depreciation is up quite heavily, and I have seen that this was depreciation of proprietary software. So, what was the reason here? And also, marketing expense was up 14%.

René Loker: And also marketing expense was up 14%. Just wondering, was it the contract with the Young Boys? Thank you very much.

Speaker #5: Just wondering, was it the contract with the Young Boys? Thank you very much.

Speaker #2: Okay. Yeah. Do you want to take the second one? I can take the first one.

Yvan Cardenas: Okay, Ignacio.

Marc Bürki: Okay, Ignacio. Yeah. Do you want to take the second one? I just take the first one.

Marc Bürki: Yeah. Do you want to take the second one? I just take the first one.

Speaker #4: So I'll start, perhaps. So, on the marketing—well, first of all, I have to say that the level of client acquisition is very positive.

Yvan Cardenas: I start perhaps. On the marketing, well, first of all, I have to say that the level of client acquisition is very positive, and this is the most important for me as a CFO. Then on the marketing spend, we now consolidate Yuh. When you look at the numbers of Yuh, in the tables, in appendix, we show basically the incremental contribution of Yuh. You see that Yuh in this level of maturity, is spending a significant amount of marketing. The incremental contribution of Yuh, when you compare it with the incremental revenues, you are close to 50%. Yuh is growing. I think they grew accounts by 20% last year, so they are growing fast, and this needs to be supported by marketing. You need to establish a brand in Switzerland.

Speaker #4: And this is the most important for me as a CFO. Then on the marketing spend, you know we now consolidate you. And when you look at the numbers of you—in the tables in the appendix—we show basically the incremental contribution of you.

Speaker #4: You see that you in this level of maturity is spending a significant amount of marketing. The incremental contribution of you when you compare it with the incremental revenues, you close to 50%.

Speaker #4: So, you see, they are growing—I think they grew accounts by 20% last year. So, they're growing fast, and this needs to be supported by marketing.

Yvan Cardenas: I think they grew accounts by 20% last year, so they are growing fast, and this needs to be supported by marketing. You need to establish a brand in Switzerland. This probably explains a bit the fact that I understand you are surprised by the level of marketing expenses. On depreciation, what you have to keep in mind, and I think we have mentioned it in the communiqué de presse, as apparently you read the French, Rene. We say that during the acquisition of Yuh, you have this accounting specificity of purchase price accounting. We have recognized intangible assets.

Speaker #4: You need to establish a brand in Switzerland. So, this probably explains a bit the fact that you—I understand you are surprised by the level of marketing expenses.

Yvan Cardenas: This probably explains a bit the fact that I understand you are surprised by the level of marketing expenses. On depreciation, what you have to keep in mind, and I think we have mentioned it in the communiqué de presse, as apparently you read the French, Rene. We say that during the acquisition of Yuh, you have this accounting specificity of purchase price accounting. We have recognized intangible assets. We have recognized goodwill, but as well, intangible assets that we have to depreciate. Goodwill is not depreciated, but we have recognized certain amount of assets that have to, and they will temporarily increase the depreciation cost of Swissquote. This is coming from the acquisition of Yuh. Have a look and very happy to guide you more into details later on after the call, if needed. Now I give over to Marc.

Speaker #4: On depreciation, what you have to keep in mind—and I think we've mentioned it in the communicated press, as apparently you read the French one, René.

Speaker #4: We say that during the acquisition, you know you have this accounting specificity of purchase price accounting. We have recognized intangible assets. We have recognized the goodwill, but as well, intangible assets that we have to depreciate.

Yvan Cardenas: We have recognized goodwill, but as well, intangible assets that we have to depreciate. Goodwill is not depreciated, but we have recognized certain amount of assets that have to, and they will temporarily increase the depreciation cost of Swissquote. This is coming from the acquisition of Yuh. Have a look and very happy to guide you more into details later on after the call, if needed. Now I give over to Marc.

Speaker #4: You know, goodwill is not depreciated, but we have recognized a certain number of assets that have to be. And they will temporarily increase the depreciation cost of Swissquote.

Speaker #4: So this is coming from the acquisition of you. Have a look, and I am very happy to guide you more into details later on after the call, if needed.

Speaker #4: And now, I give over to Mark.

Speaker #2: Yes. Thank you Rene. So when we speak about AI expenses, there are three segments to consider. The first one is staff. It's many people.

Marc Bürki: Yes. Thank you, Rene. When we speak about AI expenses, there are three segments to consider. The first one is staff. It is many people. You hired a specialist that are able to deal with AI, mainly building the infrastructure, building the data infrastructure, and also building the gateways to the various AI and large language models. Then you have CapEx. You need to build your infrastructure. Even though large part actually is happening in the cloud, but if you want really to build a sovereign data warehouse and AI system, you also need to buy hardware. We did acquire H200- systems and the chips mainly in 2025. Then the last figures, these are the consumptions. Whenever you go outside of your internal systems, you consume tokens, and these tokens are expensive. They are going up and up.

Speaker #2: You know, you hire the specialists that are able to deal with Swiss AI, mainly building the infrastructure—the data infrastructure—and also building the gateways to the various AI and large language models.

Speaker #2: Then you have CAPEX. You need to build your infrastructure. So even though large part actually is happening the cloud, but we if you want really to build a sovereign data warehouse and the AI system, you also need to buy hardware.

Speaker #2: So we did acquire H200 systems and chips in mainly in 2025. And then the last figures, these are the consumptions. So whenever you go outside of your internal systems, you consume tokens.

Marc Bürki: We did acquire H200- systems and the chips mainly in 2025. Then the last figures, these are the consumptions. Whenever you go outside of your internal systems, you consume tokens, and these tokens are expensive. They are going up and up. By the way, this is the biggest threat for the industry in general, not only banking, but the industry. You are getting addict to these systems that are sold at a discount price for now. Sooner or later, the price of tokens will go up, and these companies will want to make a business out of that.

Speaker #2: And these tokens are expensive. They're going up and up. And by the way, this is the biggest threat for the industry in general—not only banking, but the industry overall.

Marc Bürki: By the way, this is the biggest threat for the industry in general, not only banking, but the industry. You are getting addict to these systems that are sold at a discount price for now. Sooner or later, the price of tokens will go up, and these companies will want to make a business out of that. This is a huge difference with an internet infrastructure. Internet was a common good, whereas the AI infrastructure is mainly in hand of private companies, mainly US company-based. It is even more important that you can build your own internal AI infrastructure, because when you consume and when you have large language models that are built in your premises, then the tokens are almost free of charge. On one side, staff, CapEx, and tokens. Staff, I think we hired now most of the people.

Speaker #2: You know you're getting addicted to these systems that are sold at a discount price for now. But sooner or later, the price of tokens will go up.

Speaker #2: And these companies will want to make, or want to make, a business out of that. This is the huge difference with an internet infrastructure.

Marc Bürki: This is a huge difference with an internet infrastructure. Internet was a common good, whereas the AI infrastructure is mainly in hand of private companies, mainly US company-based. It is even more important that you can build your own internal AI infrastructure, because when you consume and when you have large language models that are built in your premises, then the tokens are almost free of charge. On one side, staff, CapEx, and tokens. Staff, I think we hired now most of the people. To give you a few numbers, overall, in 2025, we invested CHF 20 million in those three segments I mentioned before.

Speaker #2: So, the internet was a common good, whereas the AI infrastructure is mainly in the hands of private companies, mainly US-based companies. So, this shows even more—it’s even more important that you can build your own internal AI infrastructure. Because when you consume—when you have large language models that are built on your premises, then the tokens are almost free of charge.

Speaker #2: So on one side, staff, CAPEX, and tokens. So staff, I think we hired now most of the people. So this and to give you a few numbers, overall in 2025, we invested 20 million in those three segments I mentioned before.

Marc Bürki: To give you a few numbers, overall, in 2025, we invested CHF 20 million in those three segments I mentioned before. In 2026, we will invest CHF 15 million, and then it will go down to CHF 10 million and CHF 10 million for 2027 and 2028. 2027 and 2028, the expenses will mainly be the cost of tokens. This is the part where we are consuming tokens of those frontier models, even though we try to throttle it. When we say we are installing or using these autopilot or advanced systems to double or triple the efficiency of our development team, it comes with a cost, and the cost is the consumption of token. So the number you have read of overall CHF 60 million from 2026 to 2028, this is correct. But it is probably more in a little bit of CapEx and lots of token consumption rather than staff.

Speaker #2: In 2026, we will invest $15 million, and then it will go down to $10 million for 2027 and $10 million for 2028. In 2027 and 2028, the expenses will mainly be the cost of tokens.

Marc Bürki: In 2026, we will invest CHF 15 million, and then it will go down to CHF 10 million and CHF 10 million for 2027 and 2028. 2027 and 2028, the expenses will mainly be the cost of tokens. This is the part where we are consuming tokens of those frontier models, even though we try to throttle it. When we say we are installing or using these autopilot or advanced systems to double or triple the efficiency of our development team, it comes with a cost, and the cost is the consumption of token. So the number you have read of overall CHF 60 million from 2026 to 2028, this is correct.

Speaker #2: This is the part where we are consuming tokens of those frontier models. Even though, you know, we try to throttle it, but when we say we are installing or using these autopilot or advanced systems to double or triple the efficiency of our development team, this comes with a cost, and the cost is a consumption of tokens.

Speaker #2: So, the number you've read of overall 60 million from 2026 to 2028, this is correct. But it's probably more in a little bit of capex and lots of token consumptions rather than staff.

Marc Bürki: But it is probably more in a little bit of CapEx and lots of token consumption rather than staff. But in your assumptions, if you take CHF 15 million, so that would be CHF 5 million more of what we have already expensed in 2026. Then as of 2027 and 2028, you can add CHF 10 million in our cost for AI.

Speaker #2: But if you're in your assumptions, if you take 15 million, so that would be five more than what we have already expensed in 2026.

Marc Bürki: But in your assumptions, if you take CHF 15 million, so that would be CHF 5 million more of what we have already expensed in 2026. Then as of 2027 and 2028, you can add CHF 10 million in our cost for AI.

Speaker #2: And then, as of 2027 and 2028, you can add $10 million in our cost for AI.

Speaker #1: Okay, very interesting. Thank you very much.

René Loker: Okay. Very interesting. Thank you very much.

René Locher: Okay. Very interesting. Thank you very much.

Speaker #2: Thank you, Rene.

Marc Bürki: Thank you, Rene.

Speaker #3: The next question comes from Miriam Kilian from Deutsche Bank. Please go ahead.

Operator 2: The next question comes from Miriam Kraus from Deutsche Bank. Please go ahead.

Operator: The next question comes from Miriam Kraus from Deutsche Bank. Please go ahead.

Speaker #5: Hi, guys. Thank you for taking my question. I hope you can hear me well. I have a question for you all. If you're approaching the 17-billion threshold for FinMAC category three banks, could you maybe quantify the potential incremental capital requirements and cost burden associated with that?

Miriam Kraus: Hey, guys. Thank you for taking my question. I hope you can hear me well. I have a question for you all. As you're approaching the 17 billion threshold for FINMA category 3 banks, could you maybe quantify the potential incremental capital requirements and cost burden associated with that? That would be helpful.

Miriam Killian: Hey, guys. Thank you for taking my question. I hope you can hear me well. I have a question for you all. As you're approaching the 17 billion threshold for FINMA category 3 banks, could you maybe quantify the potential incremental capital requirements and cost burden associated with that? That would be helpful.

Speaker #5: That would be helpful.

Speaker #4: Yes, so thanks for the question, Miriam. I think it's very close to questions we received on the Q&A chat. So, we most likely are, today, at about 17 billion when you look at the growth of the balance sheet in H1.

Yvan Cardenas: Yes. Thanks for the question, Miriam. I think it's very close to questions we received on the Q&A chat. We most likely are today above the 17 billion. When you look at the growth of the balance sheet in H1, basically, you can assume that in July, we have most likely crossed this threshold. We'll be notified soon, I think, by FINMA, that we are now officially a category 3 bank. However, my understanding is that we have been treated as a category 3 bank for a certain time already. We have increased headcount in control functions in the last month. We did so as well in H1. Obviously, when you are a category 3 bank, you have more regulatory scrutiny. The regulator is looking more closely at you. I think this is already the case for a couple of months.

Speaker #4: Basically, you can assume that in July, we have most likely crossed this threshold, so we'll be notified soon, I think by FinMAC, that we are now officially a Category 3 bank.

Speaker #4: However, my understanding is that we have been treated as a category three bank for some time already, and we have increased headcount in control functions.

Speaker #4: In the last month, we did so as well in H1. So, obviously, when you are a Category 3 bank, you have more regulatory scrutiny.

Yvan Cardenas: We did so as well in H1. Obviously, when you are a category 3 bank, you have more regulatory scrutiny. The regulator is looking more closely at you. I think this is already the case for a couple of months. It was the case in 2025, and I think it is the case in 2026. The main change is the minimum capital ratio that will increase. We already commented about it in the full year results, but a category 3 bank has at least a minimum capital ratio of 12%. As well, there is increased regulatory supervision.

Speaker #4: The regulator is looking more closely at you. I think this is already the case. For a couple of months, it was the case in 2025.

Yvan Cardenas: It was the case in 2025, and I think it is the case in 2026. The main change is the minimum capital ratio that will increase. We already commented about it in the full year results, but a category 3 bank has at least a minimum capital ratio of 12%. As well, there is increased regulatory supervision. Should you go to the website of FINMA, you can, for example, see that category 3 banks are basically subject to on-site visits of FINMA. Generally, they rely on external auditors, but as a category 3 bank, they will as well do their audit themselves. In 2026, for example, we had scheduled three on-site visits from FINMA, which is generally between two and three. I think today, the numbers of 2025 and 2026, they already reflect the cost of doing business as a category 3 bank.

Speaker #4: And I think that is the case in 2026. So the main change—the minimum capital ratio that will increase—we already commented about it in the full-year results.

Speaker #4: But the Category Three bank has at least a minimum capital ratio of 12%. And as well, there is increased regulatory supervision. Should you go to the website of FINMA, you can, for example, see that Category Three banks are basically subject to onsite visits from FINMA.

Yvan Cardenas: Should you go to the website of FINMA, you can, for example, see that category 3 banks are basically subject to on-site visits of FINMA. Generally, they rely on external auditors, but as a category 3 bank, they will as well do their audit themselves. In 2026, for example, we had scheduled three on-site visits from FINMA, which is generally between two and three. I think today, the numbers of 2025 and 2026, they already reflect the cost of doing business as a category 3 bank. This will be my CFO estimate.

Speaker #4: They do, generally; they rely on external auditors, but as a Category Three bank, they will also do their own audits themselves. And in 2026, for example, we had scheduled three onsite visits from FINMA.

Speaker #4: Which is generally between two and three. So, I think today, the numbers for 2025 and 2026 already reflect the cost of doing business as a Category 3 bank.

Speaker #4: This will be my CFO estimate.

Yvan Cardenas: This will be my CFO estimate.

Speaker #5: All right. Very helpful. Thank you.

Miriam Kraus: All right. Very helpful. Thank you.

Miriam Killian: All right. Very helpful. Thank you.

Speaker #3: We now have a follow-up question from Tam Haley at UBS. Please go ahead.

Operator 2: We now have a follow-up question from Tam Haley, UBS. Please go ahead.

Operator: We now have a follow-up question from Tam Haley, UBS. Please go ahead.

Speaker #6: Thank you very much. Yes, just a follow-up, actually, on the capital allocation strategy. Can I just confirm there's no change to your internal 18% minimum capital ratio target?

Haley Tam: Thank you very much. Yes, just a follow-up, actually, on the capital allocation strategy. Can I just confirm there's no change to your internal 18% minimum capital ratio target, and

Haley Tam: Thank you very much. Yes, just a follow-up, actually, on the capital allocation strategy. Can I just confirm there's no change to your internal 18% minimum capital ratio target, and The idea that if the growth buffer reaches CHF 500 million, you could do additional distributions. I just wondered whether you could give us any color on when you think it might be reasonable you'd reach that sort of level. Thank you.

Speaker #6: And the idea that if the growth buffer reaches 500 million, you could do additional distributions. I just wondered whether you could give us any color on when you think it might be reasonable you'd reach that sort of level.

Haley Tam: The idea that if the growth buffer reaches CHF 500 million, you could do additional distributions. I just wondered whether you could give us any color on when you think it might be reasonable you'd reach that sort of level. Thank you.

Speaker #6: Thank you.

Speaker #4: Yes, Alice. So I confirm there is no change. If not, we will have to make it explicit. In order to connect as well your question with the one that we have on the chat, you can see that we have purchased a few treasury shares in H1.

Yvan Cardenas: Yes, Ellie. I confirm there is no change. If not, we will make it explicit. In order to connect your question with the one that we have on the chat, you can see that we have purchased a few treasury shares in H1. As I mentioned, for CHF 50 to 60 million. This is mainly correlated to the employee stock option plan that we have. We basically provide employees with a long-term incentive plan, and this is hedged with the purchase of treasury shares. So when they will be later exercised, then we basically get rid again of this treasury share. We have this capital allocation strategy. I think obviously we'll grow the capital buffer in 2026 compared to 2025. We'll see where we stand at the end of 2026, but my guess is we'll probably be very close to the CHF 500 somewhere in 2027.

Speaker #4: As I mentioned, the amount is between 50 and 60 million. This is mainly correlated to the employee stock option plan that we have. So, we basically provide employees with a long-term incentive plan.

Speaker #4: And this is offset with the purchase of treasury shares. So when they are later exercised, we basically get rid of these treasury shares again.

Speaker #4: So, we have this capital allocation strategy. I think, obviously, we'll grow the capital buffer in 2026 compared to 2025. We'll see where we stand at the end of 2026.

Yvan Cardenas: I think obviously we'll grow the capital buffer in 2026 compared to 2025. We'll see where we stand at the end of 2026, but my guess is we'll probably be very close to the CHF 500 somewhere in 2027. The idea was exactly to contemplate additional distributions. Could they be in the form of share buyback program? This is very likely, but this is a decision of the board of directors, and they will basically conclude on the discussion the day we are at CHF 500. But no change on the capital allocation strategy at this stage.

Speaker #4: But my guess is we will probably be very close to the 500 somewhere in 2027. And then the idea was exactly to compensate with additional distributions, which could be in the form of a share buyback program.

Yvan Cardenas: The idea was exactly to contemplate additional distributions. Could they be in the form of share buyback program? This is very likely, but this is a decision of the board of directors, and they will basically conclude on the discussion the day we are at CHF 500. But no change on the capital allocation strategy at this stage.

Speaker #4: This is very likely. But this is a decision of the Board of Directors, and they will basically conclude on the discussion the day we are at 500.

Speaker #4: But no change on the capital allocation strategy at this stage.

Speaker #6: Thank you.

Haley Tam: Thank you.

Operator 2: There are no more questions from the phone right now. Back over to you, Marc, for any written questions from the webcast.

Operator: There are no more questions from the phone right now. Back over to you, Marc, for any written questions from the webcast.

Speaker #3: There are no more questions from the phone right now. The call goes to you, Mark, for any written questions from the webcast.

Speaker #4: Yes. So I can group them for you, Mark, if you like. One question is perhaps a bit specific, and related to marketing, which is: How much does the sponsorship with Young Boys cost?

Yvan Cardenas: Yes. I can group them for you, Marc, if you like.

Marc Bürki: Yes.

Yvan Cardenas: One question is perhaps specific, and related to the marketing is how much does it cost the sponsorship with Young Boys?

Speaker #2: Yes, I think I can disclose these figures. It depends a little bit on the performance of Young Boys. When they participate in the Champions League, Europa League, or Conference League, there is a premium that we pay.

Marc Bürki: Yes, I think I can disclose these figures. It depends a little bit of the performance of Young Boys. When they participate in Champions or UEFA Conference League, there is a premium that we pay. What we have budgeted now for a full year starting as of 1 June. So from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, it is about CHF 900K. Because unfortunately for now, Young Boys are not qualified for any European competition. So the bad news on one side because the brand will be less visible, but it is good news on the other side because we will not have to pay the premium. So in our budget, we will spend about CHF 1 million, so to say.

Speaker #2: What we have what we have budgeted now for a full year starting as of 1st June so from 1st June 2026 to 30th 1st July 2026 to 30th June 2027, it's about 900K because unfortunately for now, Young Boys are not qualified for any European competition.

Speaker #2: So, the Spartans on one side because the brand will be less visible. But it's good news on the other side because we will not have to pay the premium.

Speaker #2: So, in our budget, we'll spend about $1 million, so to say.

Marc Bürki: So in our budget, we will spend about CHF 1 million, so to say.

Speaker #4: I'm taking them a bit as I see them. Well, this one is: can you describe the main difference between you and Swissquote in terms of offering and price?

Yvan Cardenas: Then, I am taking them a bit as I see them. Well, this one is, can you describe the main difference between Yuh and Swissquote in terms of offering and price? What will be the incentives for a Yuh client to move to Swissquote? Any cannibalization?

Speaker #4: What will be the incentives for your client to move to Swissquote? Is there any risk of cannibalization?

Speaker #2: Okay. Well, the main difference is the investment universe. It's a reduced investment universe in On You. Well, you have the most attractive shares, but you do not have the 3 million products and securities we have on Swissquote.

Marc Bürki: Well, the main difference is the investment universe. It is a reduced investment universe on Yuh. Well, you have the most attractive shares, but you not have the 3 million of products and securities we have on Swissquote, and this is by design. The investment part in Yuh is reduced mainly to securities, mainly to shares, and it is some kind of an entry solution if you want to invest in part of your wealth in the financial markets. Yuh is still, to the biggest part, a payment application. It is linked to a debit card, and of course, the investment in securities is less expensive than it is on Swissquote, where you have the full set of products and services and the full set of investment possibilities. That is also the reason why we keep both brands apart.

Speaker #2: And this is by design. So, the investment part in you is reduced mainly to securities, mainly to shares. And it's some kind of an entry solution if you want to start investing part of your wealth in the financial markets.

Speaker #2: So it is still, for the biggest part, a payment application. It's linked to a debit card and, of course, the investment in securities is less expensive.

Marc Bürki: It is linked to a debit card, and of course, the investment in securities is less expensive than it is on Swissquote, where you have the full set of products and services and the full set of investment possibilities. That is also the reason why we keep both brands apart. We think it also protects us a little bit against the fights on the costs for transaction fees. This is our response to the deep discount brokers that you can find in Europe. There, we actually compete on the lower side with Yuh, and that also helps us protect our margins on Swissquote.

Speaker #2: That is on the on Swissquote where you have the full set of products and of products and services and the full set of on the investment possibilities.

Speaker #2: So there's also the reason why we keep both brands apart. We think it's it also protects us a little bit against the against the fights on the on the cost for transaction fees.

Marc Bürki: We think it also protects us a little bit against the fights on the costs for transaction fees. This is our response to the deep discount brokers that you can find in Europe. There, we actually compete on the lower side with Yuh, and that also helps us protect our margins on Swissquote.

Speaker #2: So this is our response to the deep discount brokers that you can find in Europe. There, we actually compete on the lower side with you, and that also helps us protect our margins on Swissquote.

Speaker #4: Then we have another one that is very close, perhaps, to this one. Can you share your view on how market dynamics are changing, particularly with respect to competition—with sector banks stepping up their marketing efforts in Switzerland, and new banks such as Revolut expanding their footprint?

Yvan Cardenas: Then we have another one that is very close, perhaps to this one. Can you share your view on how market dynamics are changing, particularly with respect to competition? With Saxo Bank stepping up its marketing efforts in Switzerland and neobanks such as Revolut expanding their footprint, are you experiencing any pricing pressure on your core brokerage or transaction fees?

Speaker #4: Are you experiencing any pricing pressure on your core brokerage or transaction fees?

Speaker #2: Yes, that's a yeah, it's a good follow-up questions. And we think that as well as Saxo as Revolut, they are actually competing more on the with our neobank application.

Marc Bürki: Yes, it is a good follow-up question. We think that as well as Saxo, as Revolut, they are actually competing more with our neobank application. None of those competitors in Switzerland who have the sophisticated full set of trading and investment services we have on Swissquote. So competition has always been strong in attractive markets, and Switzerland is an attractive market. What is a little bit bizarre is that Revolut is able to have such a position in Switzerland without having the proper license. That is maybe something that will be solved in the future, but that is a little bit bizarre because on the other side, if we would enter European markets without having a proper license, that is of course, something that is not acceptable and is not accepted in other jurisdictions. It is a little bit something particular here in Switzerland.

Speaker #2: And none of those competitors in Switzerland have the sophisticated, full set of trading and investment services we have on Swissquote.

Speaker #2: So, competition has always been strong in attractive markets, and Switzerland is an attractive market. What is a little bit bizarre is that Revolut is able to have such a position in Switzerland without having the proper license.

Speaker #2: That is maybe something that will be solved in the future. But that's a little bit bizarre, because on the other side, we would enter European markets without having a proper license.

Marc Bürki: That is maybe something that will be solved in the future, but that is a little bit bizarre because on the other side, if we would enter European markets without having a proper license, that is of course, something that is not acceptable and is not accepted in other jurisdictions. It is a little bit something particular here in Switzerland. We are aware of competition, but we do not think that the current competitive landscape will change anything in our growth patterns in the future.

Speaker #2: That, of course, is something that is not acceptable and is not accepted in other jurisdictions. This is a little bit particular here in Switzerland.

Speaker #2: So we are aware of competition, but we don't think that the current competitive landscape will change anything in our growth patterns in the future.

Marc Bürki: We are aware of competition, but we do not think that the current competitive landscape will change anything in our growth patterns in the future.

Speaker #4: Another one, Mark. You work with, and I think it's a good one in relation to AI initiatives, you work with very sensitive data in banking.

Yvan Cardenas: Another one, Marc. You work with, and I think it is a good one in relation to AI initiatives. You work with very sensitive data in banking. Can you tell us a little bit about your AI setup? Do you run a model on-prem? Looks like the person is quite aware of the

Speaker #4: Can you tell us a little bit about your AI setup? Do you run a model on-prem? It looks like the person is quite aware of the aspects that are key in AI.

Marc Bürki: Yes

Yvan Cardenas: of the aspects that are key in AI, and how do you make sure the data is handled diligently?

Speaker #4: And how do you make sure the data is handled diligently?

Speaker #2: Yes, so that's exactly what I mentioned before. This is why it's so important to have a sovereign system, and that you understand what you are actually doing.

Marc Bürki: Yes. That's exactly what I mentioned before. This is why it's so important to have a sovereign system and that you understand what you are actually doing. Temptation, actually, to send everything in the cloud is very high. Of course, our key data are not shared with the outside world. It's completely hermetically distracted from our cloud application. This is why also we invested heavily in the past to build up this infrastructure, so to make sure that no sensitive data are going outside. But it is something that you have to build up by design in the beginning of your AI infrastructure, because otherwise, the temptation to do it differently is, of course, very strong.

Speaker #2: The temptation to actually send everything to the cloud is very high. Of course, our key data are not shared with the outside world. It's completely hermetically separated from our cloud application.

Speaker #2: This is why also we invested heavily in the past to build up this infrastructure, to make sure that no sensitive data are going outside.

Speaker #2: But it's really something that you have to build up by design in the beginning of your AI infrastructure, because otherwise, the temptation to do it differently is, of course, very strong.

Marc Bürki: But it is something that you have to build up by design in the beginning of your AI infrastructure, because otherwise, the temptation to do it differently is, of course, very strong. Everyone can have large language models and then start to share clients' data. And of course, in our internal systems, this is very strongly controlled, and we have put the filters and the structuring in place so that no sensitive data is leaving the bank.

Marc Bürki: Everyone can have large language models and then start to share clients' data. And of course, in our internal systems, this is very strongly controlled, and we have put the filters and the structuring in place so that no sensitive data is leaving the bank.

Speaker #2: Everyone can have a large language model and then start to share clients' data. Of course, in our internal system, this is very strongly controlled, and we have put the filters and the structure in place so that no sensitive data is leaving the bank.

Speaker #4: Okay. There are still a significant number of questions. Quick one: about instant payments in Switzerland—any impact on the technology of the bank? This was already implemented in Europe, but any thoughts about instant payments in Switzerland?

Yvan Cardenas: Okay. There's still a significant number of questions. A quick one about instant payments in Switzerland. Any impact on the technology of the bank? This was already implemented in Europe, but any thoughts about on instant payments in Switzerland?

Speaker #2: Yes. So, instant payment is a new technology, and so every bank in Switzerland needs to be ready on the inbound side. So, this is what we have.

Marc Bürki: Yes. Instant payment is a new technology, and so every bank in Switzerland needs to be ready on the inbound side. This is what we have. We are accepting instant payments inbound, but we are a little bit reluctant to do it on the other side because you need to create some friction, some latencies if you want to control the payment flow. So it's good for the clients, but it's also a challenge for the banks, especially in a situation when you have lots of cyber fraud and cybercrime. There are even some jurisdictions, Singapore, for example, where they have now mandatory friction in their payment system, and they really go away from instant payments just to better secure the transactions.

Speaker #2: We are accepting instant payments inbound, but we are a little bit reluctant to do it on the other side, because you need to create some friction, some latency if you want to control the flow—the payment flow.

Speaker #2: So it's good for the clients, but it's also a challenge for the banks, especially in a situation where you have lots of cyber fraud and cyber crime. There are even some jurisdictions—Singapore, for example—where they now have mandatory friction in their payment system, and they really move away from instant payments just to better secure the transactions.

Marc Bürki: There are even some jurisdictions, Singapore, for example, where they have now mandatory friction in their payment system, and they really go away from instant payments just to better secure the transactions.

Yvan Cardenas: So as we have seen international peers posting fairly good growth numbers, can you talk a bit about the competitive dynamics and your assessment of the market share development in H1 2026? I do not know if you have something to add compared to what have already been said, Marc.

Speaker #4: So, as we have seen international peers posting fairly good growth numbers, can you talk a bit about the competitive dynamics and your assessment of the market share development in H1 2026?

Speaker #4: I don't know if you have something to add compared to what has already been said. Mark?

Speaker #2: No, the only thing we can say is that, of course, the market is very dynamic. The market in Europe is super competitive, so our intention is not to compete on the deep discount brokerage side.

Marc Bürki: No. The only thing we can say is that, of course, the market is very dynamic. The market in Europe is super competitive, so our intention is not to compete on the deep discount brokerage side. I do not think there is many space left in Germany, for example, if you want to compete against the Flatex, the DEGIRO, or against Robinhood, or against Trade Republic. These are deep discount brokers, and their business model is based on very cheap execution. We think that our system is more sophisticated, is to offer a very broad range of products and investments. And then also to be fair, when you share revenues, for example, if you do securities lending, because many of those deep discount brokers, they have embedded securities lendings in their regulation and their bylaws, and usually, they do not share the revenue they made with the clients.

Speaker #2: I don't think there is much space left in Germany, for example, if you want to compete against a flat tax, the Giro, or against Robinhood, or against Trade Republic.

Speaker #2: These are deep discount brokers, and their business model is based on very cheap execution. We think that our system is more sophisticated. These two offer a very broad range of products and investments.

Speaker #2: And then also, to be fair, when you share revenues—for example, if you do securities lending, because many of those deep discount brokers have embedded securities lending in their regulation and their bylaws.

Marc Bürki: And then also to be fair, when you share revenues, for example, if you do securities lending, because many of those deep discount brokers, they have embedded securities lendings in their regulation and their bylaws, and usually, they do not share the revenue they made with the clients. For us, we have a different approach. We are targeting, in Europe, not the retail-retail segments, but more the mass affluent segments business. And there we have a very transparent and fair revenue-sharing model in securities lending, for example.

Speaker #2: And usually, they do not share the revenue they make with the clients. So, for us, we have a different approach. We are targeting in Europe not the retail, retail segments, but more the mass affluent segment business.

Marc Bürki: For us, we have a different approach. We are targeting, in Europe, not the retail-retail segments, but more the mass affluent segments business. And there we have a very transparent and fair revenue-sharing model in securities lending, for example.

Speaker #2: And there, we have a very transparent and fair revenue-sharing model in securities lending, for example.

Speaker #4: I'll group a few questions, Mark. Can you share your thoughts on competition from new products such as perpetual futures prediction markets? Are prediction markets something you intend to add to your offering?

Yvan Cardenas: I will group a few questions, Marc. Can you share your thoughts on competition from new products such as perpetual futures, prediction markets, are prediction markets an area you intend to add into your offering?

Speaker #2: Okay. So we're a little bit reluctant on offering prediction markets. We think that there is a current loophole in those markets in Europe, but we don't think that this loophole will stay open very long.

Marc Bürki: Okay. We are a little bit reluctant on offering prediction market. We think that there is a current loophole in those markets in Europe, but we do not think that this loophole will stay open very long. It is a little bit like a payment for order flow. It was thought there was also some kind of a loophole, but then it has been closed by the regulator. I think prediction markets will go in the same direction. We do not intend to invest strongly in that product. What was the other product?

Speaker #2: It's a little bit like payment for order flow. It was also some kind of loophole, but then it was closed by the regulator.

Speaker #2: I think prediction markets will go in the same direction, so we do not intend to invest strongly in that product. And what was the other product?

Yvan Cardenas: Perpetual futures.

Speaker #2: Oh yes, this is already part of our offering. We do have this, not directly with Swissquote internal products, but with products from our part.

Marc Bürki: Oh, yes. This is already part of our offering. We do have this, not directly with Swissquote internal products, but with products from our partner.

Speaker #4: One about AI. Given the targeted AI productivity increase of two to three times in the future, does this have any implication on workforce going forward?

Yvan Cardenas: One about AI. Given the targeted AI productivity increase of 2 to 3 times in the future, does this have any implication on workforce going forward?

Speaker #2: I think the implication is that the growth in headcount will be much reduced compared to what we have seen in the past.

Marc Bürki: I think the implication is that the growth in headcounts will be much reduced with what we have seen in the past. We do not think there are any layoffs. That is not the case. We think that the headcounts will still grow, but at a slower pace. Of course, if you have 2, 3 times the productivity you had before, you could say, okay, you can reduce your headcounts. Do not forget, the competition will also have productivity gains, and simply the entire system will run faster. I will give you an example. If you are using AI to reply to an email at a personal level, so it is just to illustrate with a very simple example. You think that you are gaining productivity because you can reply faster to incoming emails and in different language.

Speaker #2: So, we don't think there are any layoffs—that's not the case. We think that headcount will still grow, but at a slower pace.

Speaker #2: Of course, if you have two or three times the productivity you had before, you could say, okay, you can reduce your headcount. But don't forget, I mean, the competition will also have productivity gains.

Speaker #2: And simply, the entire system will run faster. I give you an example. If you're using AI to reply to an email at a personal level—just to illustrate with a very simple example.

Speaker #2: So you think that you gain in productivity because you can reply faster to incoming emails, and in different languages. But don't forget that on the other side, the person you send the email to is also using AI.

Marc Bürki: You think that you are gaining productivity because you can reply faster to incoming emails and in different language. Do not forget that on the other side, the one person you send the email to is also using AI. So he may reply to your AI-generated email with another AI-generated email much faster. It is simply the world will run faster in the future using AI, and the gain in productivity will be normal. Where the danger come from is when you are not part of the gain in productivity, because then you will be a lagger, and you have the risk of being overrun by competition.

Marc Bürki: Do not forget that on the other side, the one person you send the email to is also using AI. So he may reply to your AI-generated email with another AI-generated email much faster. It is simply the world will run faster in the future using AI, and the gain in productivity will be normal. Where the danger come from is when you are not part of the gain in productivity, because then you will be a lagger, and you have the risk of being overrun by competition.

Speaker #2: So he may reply to your AI generated email with another AI generated email much faster. So it's simply the world will run faster in the future using AI and productivity will be the gain in productivity will be normal.

Speaker #2: Now, where the danger comes from is when you're not part of the gain in productivity, because then you'll be a lagger. And you have the risk of being overrun by competition.

Speaker #4: And I think we have five remaining; we'll try to go fast. Over the last periods, B2B and B2B2C contributed hardly to half of the net Humanist flows.

Yvan Cardenas: I think we have 5 remaining. We will try to go fast. Over the last periods, B2B and B2B2C contribute to half of the net new money flows, while accounting only for around 30% of revenues. Should we think about the revenue yield and the economics of these assets compared to the traditional B2C business? I can take it, yes. The B2B2C business model is interesting because it is a diversification model. We target self-directed customers. With the help of B2B2C customers, we can target customers that may need more support, advisory, wealth management services, et cetera. When we partner with a B2B2C, we obviously share a bit the margin that we have, but we can as well attract customers that will not necessarily fit what Swissquote is today. Swissquote is a digital multi-asset class platform for self-directed customers.

Speaker #4: While accounting for only around 30% of revenues, should we also think about the revenue yield and economics of these assets compared to the traditional B2C business?

Speaker #4: I can take it. Yes. I think the B2B2C business model is interesting because it's a diversification. We target self-directed customers with the help of B2B2C customers.

Speaker #4: We can target customers that may need more support, advisory, wealth management services, etc. So, when we partner with a B2B2C, we obviously share a bit of the margin that we have.

Yvan Cardenas: When we partner with a B2B2C, we obviously share a bit the margin that we have, but we can as well attract customers that will not necessarily fit what Swissquote is today. Swissquote is a digital multi-asset class platform for self-directed customers. With the B2B2C, they provide the relationship, we provide the technology. We have to share the margin. This is why the contribution to revenue is slightly lower. We have to share this margin. But we attract assets that are as well more interesting, and as well that provide probably a higher revenue margin because now the revenue is much more recurrent.

Speaker #4: But we can also attract customers that may not necessarily fit what Swissquote is today. So Swissquote is a digital, multi-asset class platform for self-directed customers. But with a B2B2C-type relationship, we provide the technology, they provide the relationship, and we have to share the margin.

Yvan Cardenas: With the B2B2C, they provide the relationship, we provide the technology. We have to share the margin. This is why the contribution to revenue is slightly lower. We have to share this margin. But we attract assets that are as well more interesting, and as well that provide probably a higher revenue margin because now the revenue is much more recurrent. 1, 2 that are a bit more technical. What revenues you make on securities lending? While we do not provide the detail, what I can tell you, it is growing interestingly. In H1 2026, we did the same amount of revenues that we did in the entire 2025. What we target for 2026 is between CHF 10 to 15 million revenues in securities lending. Another technical one, cryptos was 4% of net revenues in H1. How much of pre-tax profit?

Speaker #4: This is why the contribution to revenues is slightly lower—we have to share this margin. But we attract assets that are also more interesting and that probably provide a higher revenue margin, because the revenue is much more recurrent.

Speaker #4: There are two or three that are a bit more technical. What revenues do you make on securities lending? While we do not provide the detail, we can tell you it's growing. It's growing interestingly—in H1 2026, we did the same amount of revenues that we did in the entire 2025.

Yvan Cardenas: 1, 2 that are a bit more technical. What revenues you make on securities lending? While we do not provide the detail, what I can tell you, it is growing interestingly. In H1 2026, we did the same amount of revenues that we did in the entire 2025. What we target for 2026 is between CHF 10 to 15 million revenues in securities lending. Another technical one, cryptos was 4% of net revenues in H1. How much of pre-tax profit?

Speaker #4: And what we target for 2026 is between 10 to 15 million in revenues from securities lending. Another technical one—crypto was 4% of net revenues in H1, or much of pre-tax profit. What I can say is, well, the pre-tax margin of the crypto business is relatively high.

Yvan Cardenas: What I can say is, while the pre-tax margin of the crypto business is relatively high, it is not 100%, but it is certainly above 50%. So the impact of these revenues is quite significant, generally speaking, on the pre-tax profit. There is one about. Perhaps you can take it, Marc. Could you please talk a bit about foreign currency designated trading in H1? What proportion of trading is in currency, cross-border securities, and how does this compare with history? How do you expect it to develop over time, and how should we think about the impact to foreign exchange income?

Speaker #4: It's not 100%, but it's certainly above 50%. So the impact of these revenues is quite significant, generally speaking, on the pre-tax profit. There is one about—perhaps you can take it, Mark.

Speaker #4: Could you please talk a bit more about foreign currency designated trading in H1? What proportion of trading is currently in cross-border securities, and how does this compare with history?

Speaker #4: How do you expect this to develop over time, and how should we think about the impact on foreign exchange income?

Speaker #2: Okay. That's probably one that we should answer through an email. We have to number crunch it a little bit. So who was the question from?

Marc Bürki: Okay. That is probably a one that we should answer through an email.

Yvan Cardenas: Yeah.

Marc Bürki: We have to number crunch it a little bit. So who was the question from?

Speaker #4: Tom Ferguson from Jefferies. I'll take it directly in a separate channel. Same for the last one from Manuel Petter from Elvetische Bank, which is about the technicalities of the consolidation of you.

Yvan Cardenas: Tom Ferguson from Jefferies. I can take it directly in a separate channel. Same for the last one of Emmanuel Peter from Helvetische Bank, that is about the technicalities of the consolidation of HU. I invite these two people to contact me directly, and I will be very happy to guide them a bit more into details separate to this conference call.

Speaker #4: I invite these two people to contact me directly, and I'll be very happy to provide them with a bit more detail separately from this conference call.

Speaker #2: Okay, very good. Well, this was then the last question we have received on the system. So, again, thank you so much for joining us this morning for this press conference.

Marc Bürki: Well, these were then the last questions we have received on the system. Again, thank you so much for joining us this morning for this press conference. I wish you a wonderful day. Of course, if you have additional questions, please don't hesitate to join us or to call us directly, either through email or through telephone. With that, I wish you a great day and see you soon.

Speaker #2: I wish you a wonderful day, and of course, if you have additional questions, please don't hesitate to join us or to contact us directly, either through email or by telephone.

Speaker #2: With that, I wish you a great day, and see you soon.

Speaker #1: Ladies and gentlemen, the conference is now over. Thank you for choosing CaroSkull, and thank you for participating in the conference. You may now disconnect your lines.

Operator 2: Ladies and gentlemen, the conference is now over. Thank you for choosing Chorus Call, and thank you for participating in the conference. You may now disconnect your lines. Goodbye.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, the conference is now over. Thank you for choosing Chorus Call, and thank you for participating in the conference. You may now disconnect your lines. Goodbye.

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Half Year 2026 Swissquote Group Holding SA Earnings Call

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