Christa Rigozzi: How would you summarise Cembra’s performance in 2017?

Robert Oudmayer: Our Bank had another successful year in a competitive market environment. Our net income of CHF 144.5 million is slightly above the level of 2016. We were able to compensate the negative impact from the interest rate cap introduced in 2016. Our return on equity is very strong with 16.7%, and we maintained our cost discipline by keeping our operating expenses flat. All our business lines have reported growth this year. In the credit cards business we even recorded double-digit organic growth, again strongly outperforming the market. A big thank you goes to our more than 800 dedicated employees who made this strong result possible.

2017 was also a year of acquisitions and growth for Cembra.

Felix Weber: Indeed, we made use of our strong capital position and invested in growth, in line with our strategy. We acquired Swissbilling, which allowed us to enter the invoice financing business, a new business area for us. Furthermore, we acquired EFL Autoleasing with CHF 278 million net financing receivables to strengthen our position as the leading independent auto lease and loan provider in Switzerland. And we refinanced a CHF 42 million personal loan portfolio from eny Finance, a Swiss online personal loan provider.

Robert Oudmayer: We also signed a number of exciting new partnerships: We are now the preferred partner of a manufacturer of electric vehicles and the finance partner for Harley-­Davidson motorcycles in Switzerland. In spring, we will launch a new credit card with the furniture store Interio, a subsidiary of our long-time partner Migros.

How has the Bank developed over the past years?

Robert Oudmayer: We have been independent for more than four years now. The business has always been highly profitable, and since our IPO we have an excellent track record. We have again achieved very good returns for our shareholders. We propose to the Annual General Meeting the payout of an attractive dividend of CHF 3.55 per share. The development of Cembra is predictable and stable. I am proud that the brand is now well established on the market. This is also thanks to you, Christa. You are a valuable Brand Ambassador for Cembra!

Thank you! I am proud to be part of Cembra’s success. What would you say makes this Bank unique?

Felix Weber: Cembra has a long tradition and rich ex­perience in consumer finance. We offer excellent customer service and have highly engaged employees who live the values of our Bank day by day. Strong values, stability, long-term thinking, and the fact that we always deliver on what we promise makes Cembra trustworthy and unique.

How do investors profit from a stable Bank?

Felix Weber: Our share price performance and an at­trac­tive dividend make Cembra appealing for investors. For foreign investors, we have the advantage of being a pure Swiss business, operating in a country with economic and political stability. We have no foreign currency exposure, and we have a low loss rate. I believe the biggest sign of trust in Cembra is the fact that our number of customers is constantly growing. We now have more than 800,000 customers. The same is true for our shareholders; their number is currently at around 10,000, many of them Swiss retail investors. We have increased our ordinary dividend every year since the IPO and are committed to paying a solid dividend to our shareholders also in the future.

How does stability benefit your customers and employees?

Robert Oudmayer: Our Bank has been on the Swiss market for more than 100 years, despite different owners and changing economic environments. This makes us a solid partner for our customers and an attractive employer.

What makes Cembra an attractive employer?

Robert Oudmayer: Our employees are the key to Cembra’s success. They embody and share our values – engagement, customer focus, responsibility and diversity – and drive the Bank’s future. We need engaged employees, this is why we offer an inspiring and collaborative workplace, and flexible working solutions. We foster diversity, and we support our employees in their development.

What are the Bank’s biggest challenges for 2018 and beyond?

Felix Weber: We will continue to mitigate the impact from the lower maximum interest rates. The reduction from 15% to 10% on consumer loans and from 15% to 12% on credit cards has moved the market players closer together and increased competition. The continuous development in the regulatory environment is keeping us on our toes and makes continuous investments a necessity. Of course, we also follow the development of new payment technologies. Since November 2017, Cembra supports mobile payment with smartwatches Garmin Pay^TM and FitBit Pay. In February 2018, we introduced Samsung Pay as mobile payment solution for four of our credit card programmes. We will also continue to invest in the digitalisation of
the business.

What is Cembra’s long-term strategy?

Felix Weber: The Bank pursues a clear strategy, which is based on three pillars. First, we want to defend our core business. We do this by acquiring new customers while retaining a competitive cost / income ratio. Secondly, we build the future by investing in digitisation and transforming the Bank from a product oriented to a customer ­centric organisation. And thirdly, we continue to invest in the long-term sustainable growth of the Bank. We want to gain size through further acquisitions, partnerships and joint ventures. Here, our focus is on consumer finance areas, primar­ily in Switzerland.