Romania’s biggest bank sees EUR 142 mln net profit in the first half

Romania’s biggest lender BCR, which is part of Austrian Erste Group, posted a net profit of EUR 141.5 million in the first half of 2016. The result is 5.5% higher compared to the same period of 2015. The bank's operational profit went down by 9.5%, to EUR 156.8 million, but this was compensated by net revenues of EUR 15.4 million from the release of provisions, as the bank continued to clear its portfolio. BCR granted new loans worth some EUR 910 million to corporate and individual clients in the first six months and cleared its portfolio of non-performing loans (NPL). Thus, although that overall the bank’s loan portfolio went slightly down compared to December 2015, due to NPL sales, the NPL ratio also declined, reaching 14% at the end of June, compared to 23.5% at the end of June 2015. BCR's loans portfolio at the end of June was EUR 7.1 billion, down from EUR 7.2 billion in December 2015. However, the bank's assets went up by 2.5%, to EUR 14.2 billion, as the deposit base increased by 2.9% in the first six months, to EUR 9.7 billion. Romania's BCR cuts down payment for mortgage loans editor@romania-insider.com