Romanian lender BCR ups net profit by 81% in first nine months

BCR, the second-biggest bank in Romania, part of Austrian group Erste, recorded a net profit of over RON 1 billion (EUR 218 million) in the first nine months of this year, up by 81% compared to the same period of 2017. The bank’s operational revenues increased on all the main segments, reaching RON 2.43 billion (EUR 524 million), up 13% year-on-year. The higher revenues were the result of stronger lending activity. On the retail segment, BCR granted new loans worth RON 6.3 billion (EUR 1.35 billion) in the first nine months of this year. On the corporate segment, which includes large companies, SMEs and the public sector, the volume of new loans reached RON 4.5 billion (EUR 970 million) in the same period. The bank’s loan portfolio thus increased by 7.4% compared to December 2017, reaching almost RON 36 billion (EUR 7.72 bln) at the end of September 2018. Deposits from customers stood rather stable at RON 52.63 billion (EUR 11,28 bln). editor@romania-insider.com