Banca Transilvania, Romania’s third largest bank by assets and the largest lender controlled by Romanian investors, increased its net profit by 19.5%, in 2014, to over EUR 100 million.

The bank’s operating income went up by 20.3%, to EUR 449 million, as Banca Transilvania was one of the few local lenders which managed to increase their loan books last year.

At the end of 2014, the bank’s total assets reached EUR 7.94 billion (RON 35.6 billion), with a loan portfolio balance 5.3% higher than at the end of 2013, while the total customer deposits were more than 16.4% higher as compared to the same period.

Banca Transilvania granted some 146,000 new loans to companies and retail clients, totalling over EUR 2 billion (RON 9.1 billion), the bank announced on Friday, February 13.

The bank’s total loan portfolio balance reached EUR 4.47 billion (RON 20 billion), of which a little under 11% were non-performing loans (NPLs). The NPL bank’s NPL ratio was significantly under the average for the Romanian banking system.

Deposits from clients amounted to EUR 6.7 billion (RON 30 billion), resulting in a loan-to-deposit ratio of 66.6%.

The number of active clients, both individuals and companies, increased by 7.4% compared to the same period last year, from 1.76 million to 1.89 million customers.

“For the future, we will maintain a pragmatic and entrepreneurial attitude, focusing on profitable growth opportunities both for the bank and at group level. We will preserve the endeavour to increase efficiency and support the Romanian economy, attentive and cautious to the challenges raised by the current economic environment in Romania and the neighbouring region,” said Horia Ciorcila, Banca Transilvania’s Chairman of the Board and one of its largest shareholders.

Ciorcila, who was one of the bank’s founders in 1994, holds about 5% of its shares. The other significant shareholders are EBRD, with a 14.6% stake, Romanian investment fund SIF Moldova, with over 8%, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), with 5.36%.

Banca Transilvania is one of the largest local companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, with a market capitalization of almost EUR 1.3 billion (as of February 13, 2015). The bank’s shares have surged by 65% in the past 12 months. However, the shares went down by 1.6% on Friday after the bank posted its preliminary results.

Banca Transilvania’s main challenge this year is to finalize its takeover of Volksbank Romania from Austrian group Volksbank. This transaction would help it move to second place in the local banks’ ranking, surpassing BRD.

Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com