General meeting of VP Bank: All motions approved

Vaduz, 28 April 2017 - Shareholders approved all proposals put to a vote by the Board of Directors at the 54th ordinary annual general meeting of VP Bank, which was held on Friday, 28 April 2017, in Vaduz. Included was the approval of a dividend increase to CHF 4.50 per registered 'A' share and CHF 0.45 per registered 'B' share.

416 shareholders were present at the 54th ordinary annual general meeting of VP Bank. They approved the 2016 annual reports and annual results of VP Bank Group and VP Bank Ltd, Vaduz, as well as the discharge of the Board of Directors and the auditors. Ernst & Young was re-elected for a further one-year term as Group and statutory auditors.

Increased dividend

The general assembly approved the Board's proposed appropriation of earnings and the distribution of a dividend of CHF 4.50 per registered 'A' share and CHF 0.45 per registered 'B' share. The dividend will be paid on 5 Mai 2017. These dividends are based on the Bank's dividend policy as defined by the Board of Directors, the goal of which is to maintain constancy of the distributions. The Board of Directors based its dividend proposal for the 2016 financial year on VP Bank's recorded annual profit of CHF 58.0 million.

Also approved was the proposed contribution to the VP Bank Foundation in the amount of CHF 2.0 million.

Departure and re-elections to the Board of Directors

Dr Daniel H. Sigg opted not to stand for re-election and stepped down from the Board of Directors at the annual general meeting. Elected to that post in 2008, he brought to the Board his vast experience in the key financial centres of Asia, Europe and the USA, as well as his expertise in the field of financial products. Dr Daniel H. Sigg was Chairman of the Risk Committee and a member of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. The Board would like to thank Dr Daniel H. Sigg for his tremendous commitment to VP Bank and wishes him the very best in his future endeavours.

Prof Dr Teodoro D. Cocca, Dr Beat Graf and Michael Riesen were re-elected to a further three-year term of office on the Board of Directors of VP Bank.

First-ever online vote

In conjunction with its digitisation strategy, VP Bank this year offered its shareholders for the first time the opportunity to register online for the annual general meeting, as well as to submit their votes on the various agenda items electronically. Many shareholders took advantage of this possibility to vote online.

Disciplined sustainability

VP Bank stands squarely behind the principle of responsible business dealings. For years, the Bank has demonstrated its commitment to a sustainable corporate culture by conducting numerous activities and projects. With this year's shareholder gift, a water bottle, VP Bank is supplementing its already sizeable annual contribution in support of the charitable organisation 'Drink & Donate'. This organisation advocates and promotes the consumption of tap water instead of mineral water and finances drinking water projects in underdeveloped countries.

Outlook for 2017

Again in 2017, growth will be a key topic at VP Bank Group. Special emphasis is being placed on the further development of the Bank's fund business as well as on the implementation of a revamped intermediaries strategy. In light of the ever-more demanding clients and markets, VP Bank will redouble its efforts to build out the Bank's international business and further develop the its digital services.

For VP Bank, growth also means resolutely enhancing the quality of its client care as well as building more teams of experienced professionals - especially in Asia. Attracting new, competent client advisors remains an important task.

In addition to that, VP Bank wants to invest in growth through acquisitions. The Bank can continue to rely on its very solid equity capital base, a store of funding which makes it possible to take active advantage of opportunities as they arise in today's transitioning financial industry.