Romanian bank BRD-GSG sees profit down by a quarter in Jan-Mar

Romania's third-biggest bank, BRD - Groupe Societe Generale, on April 3 reported RON 301 million (EUR 63 million) net profit for the first quarter of this year, 27% lower than that reported in the same period of last year, according to a release sent to the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

The bank moderately increased its lending operations judging by the stock of loans that increased by 3.6% year-on-year on the retail segment (at a rate smaller than the 4% consumer price inflation) and by 5.2% year-on-year on the corporate segment. For comparison, the stock of non-government loans in Romania increased by 7.7% year-on-year as of the end of March. Leasing production increased more substantially by 12%.

BRD estimates it will pay about RON 79 million RON (EUR 16.5 mln) in August 2019 at the latest, representing the tax on financial assets or the so-called "greed tax". The after-tax impact of the greed tax would be RON 67 million (EUR 14.0 million).

"During the first quarter of the year, BRD recorded a continuous increase in both retail and corporate lending, and higher transaction volumes, while improving operational performance. In the future, we will continue to build on our strong franchise, actively funding the projects and activities of all the actors in the economy, and will focus on improving customer experience by enhancing digital innovation and streamlining processes," said Francois Bloch, CEO BRD.

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