Raiffeisen Bank Romania sees slight increase in net profit in H1 2017

Raiffeisen Bank Romania reported a net profit of EUR 55 million in the first half of the year, which represents a slight increase of 2%, in comparable terms, excluding non-recurring events. The total assets increased by 6%, to EUR 7.32 billion, according to a statement from the bank. At the end of June 2016, Raiffeisen Bank Romania has total assets of EUR 6.89 billion. The bank's net lending portfolio increased by 3% in the last 12 months, to EUR 4.32 billion. The newly approved loans in this period amounted to EUR 1.4 billion, with more than one third being granted to individuals. The bank's total revenues went down 3% in this period (excluding the VISA transaction in 2016), to EUR 217 million. “The main reasons that led to a slight decrease in total revenues are the digitization of our services, along with the launch of new current account packages and credit and savings products at advantageous prices to our customers,” reads the bank’s statement. Meanwhile, the operating costs increased by 3% to EUR 131 million in this period, being mainly influenced by the costs of transporting and processing cash. Some 344,000 of Raiffeisen Bank Romania’s customers are using online and mobile banking. Raiffeisen Bank serves approximately 2 million individuals, around 100,000 SMEs, and 5,700 companies. The network has 466 agencies, approximately 1,100 ATMs, 164 MFMs (multifunctional machines), and about 18,000 EPOSs. The bank had fewer employees at the end of June 2017 – 5,190 compared to 5,311 at the end of June 2016. Raiffeisen Bank CEO: Romania is a core market for us Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com