Romanian lender BCR posts 37% higher profit in 2020 on low base

Romania's second-biggest lender, BCR - part of Erste Bank Group, announced that it achieved a net profit of RON 814.1 million (EUR 168.3 mln) in 2020.

With a return on assets of around 1%, the bank performed in line with the banking system's average.

The 37% leap in its annual profit is due to the massive provisions set in 2019 for potential losses linked to its subsidiary Banca pentru Locuinte (BpL) ruled by an inferior court as liable for irregularities in a Government-backed program.

BCR's operating result improved by 5.1% to RON 1.88 bln (EUR 388 mln) in 2020 from RON 1.79 bln (EUR 376.5 mln) in 2019, on higher operating income along with lower operating expenses, according to the financial data reported on February 26.

The stock of net customer loans granted by BCR advanced by 7.4% to RON 43 bln (EUR 8.83 bln) in December 2020, supported by both the retail and corporate segments.

On the downside, the bank's NPL ratio reached 4.5% as of December 2020 (versus 3.8% banking system's average), up from 4.1% recorded as of December 2019.

At the same time, the NPL provisioning coverage reached 122.5% in December 2020, the bank assured.

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