BTV back on track after ‘difficult’ 2008
Bosses at the Bank für Tirol und Vorarlberg (BTV) said today (Fri) the institutions profit had soared year on year in 2009 after what they described as “a very difficult 2008”.The provincial banks annual profit before taxes jumped by 2.3 per cent last year compared to 2008 figures to 51.3 million Euros.BVT increased its equity capital from 673 million Euros to 800 million Euros in 2009, while its return on equity after taxes increased from 0.4 per cent in 2008 to 8.8 per cent last year. The volume of credit, meanwhile, dropped by 5.9 per cent to 5.55 billion Euros in 2009.BVT chief Peter Gaugg described the institution as a “careful bank” that mainly invests in its core businesses. “We know our customers and our markets,” he said.Gaugg warned that the economic crisis was not over yet.BVT had 862 employees last year. Its domestic operations focus on private customers and medium-sized businesses in the western provinces of Tyrol and Vorarlberg. Around 7,000 firms were customers of the bank in 2009.