Romanian lender BRD - Groupe Societe Generale, the second largest bank in Romania by assets, posted a EUR 11.5 million net profit in the first nine months of this year, according to the bank.

Listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, the lender saw its stock of loans down 5.1 percent, to some EUR 7.7 billion at the end of September 2013.

Loans to individuals were up 1.4 percent, while there was an overall drop of 2.3 percent across the Romanian banking system.

The growth was mainly supported by real estate loans, which were up by a quarter in the last 12 months. Meanwhile, the stock of loans to corporates was down 10.9 percent.

Deposits were up 3.3 percent year-on-year at the end of this year's third quarter, to some EUR 7.6 billion.

“The evolution of Romania's banking market in the third quarter of this year was not helped by macroeconomic conditions, as the demand for loans was still low. However, the market for individuals kept its positive trend, mainly because of the First House program,” according to BRD's statement.

BRD - Groupe Societe Generale has a network of 900 units in Romania and 2.3 million clients across the country.

editor@romania-insider.com