Bosnia's Federation banking sector grows H1 net profit 4% y/y

The banks' net interest income edged up 0.1% to 303.1 million marka in the period under review, FBA said in a report on the performance of the banking sector in the Federation published on Wednesday.   

The total operating income of the banks in the Federation rose 3.1% on the year to 224 million marka in January-June, while operating costs increased 0.9% to 257.9 million marka.

The Federation banking sector's non-performing loan (NPL) ratio declined to 7.8% at the end of June, down 0.7 percentage points compared to the end-December figure.

The banks' total net assets amounted to 23.1 billion marka as at end-June, up 4.5% compared to the end of 2018.

A total of 15 banks operated in the Federation at the end of June.

Mostar-based UniCredit Bank was the largest bank in the Federation in terms of assets at end-June, followed by Sarajevo-based Raiffeisen Bank and the Bosnian arm of Intesa Sanpaolo bank.

The Federation is one of the two autonomous entities forming Bosnia and Herzegovina. The other one is the Serb Republic.

(1 euro = 1.95583 marka)