The Romanian subsidiary of Austrian group Erste, Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR), posted a net profit of more than RON 1.2 billion (EUR 258 million) in 2018, an increase of 80% over the previous year, the bank officials said on February 28.

The bank, until 2017 the market leader in terms of assets, lost its position to Banca Transilvania last year. Meanwhile, the local subsidiary of Societe Generale, BRD, boasted the highest profit among Romanian banks in 2018: RON 1.54 billion (EUR 330 million), compared to some RON 1.20 billion (EUR 258 million) posted by BCR and RON 1.22 billion (EUR 262 million) posted by Banca Transilvania.

In terms of assets, Banca Transilvania surpassed BCR with RON 74.1 billion (EUR 15.9 billion) versus RON 71.5 billion (EUR 15.4 billion) while BRD came a distant third, with RON 55.7 billion (EUR 12 bln).

While Banca Transilvania started its press release with underlining the volume of loans extended to companies, BCR focused on retail lending, which speaks of the slightly different focus of the banks that remain in competition for the market leader place. BCR financed the purchase of more than 13,000 homes in 2018, namely one in five Romanians who bought a mortgage loan. BCR is the largest financier in the First House government program, providing loans worth more than RON 1.3 billion (EUR 280 million).

"We have been more flexible, and we have streamlined the processes, and we will continue the same direction this year. We transform and learn every day from our customers, and we work intensively to simplify interactions with them," the bank’s press release reads.

BCR also expressed concerns related to the future regulations of the banking market. "Unfortunately, since end-2018 we are working in a more unpredictable economic context than ever. The direction we are currently heading can strongly influence future generations. It is necessary to sit down at the table and analyze what works and what does not. Recent history shows that sectoral taxes do not help the economies that apply them and create mistrust," said BCR CEO Sergiu Manea.

editor@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Bcr.ro)