Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR), the biggest lender in Romania, part of Austrian group Erste, recorded a net profit of almost RON 700 million (EUR 150 million) in the first half of this year, more than double compared to the same period of 2017, on the back of higher operating results.

The bank’s operating income went up by 7%, to RON 1.54 billion (EUR 331 million), as net interest income rose by 9.5%, to RON 962 million (EUR 207 million). The bank’s expenses also increased by 12.8%, to RON 801 million (EUR 172 million).

The bank’s loan portfolio went up by 4.5% compared to December 2017, reaching almost RON 35 billion (EUR 7.5 billion). BCR granted new retail loans worth RON 4.1 billion (EUR 890 million) in the first half of this year, up 50% year-on-year. The new corporate loans totaled RON 568 million (EUR 122 million), with higher increases on the SMEs segment.

The non-performing loans ratio reached 6.7% at the end of June, down from 8.1% at the end of December.

editor@romania-insider.com