April 5 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's TBI Bank said it achieved a record-high net profit of 27.5 million euro ($30.2 million) last year, up 39% on an annual comparison basis.
TBI Bank's revenue grew by 24% year-on-year to 124 million euro, mainly driven by a 14% increase in net interest income and a 70% jump in fees and commissions income, the lender said in a statement on Monday, quoting consolidated unaudited financial results.
The rise in revenue allowed operating profit to reach 96 million euro in 2021, up 30% year-on-year. Profit before tax amounted to 34.6 million euro, 50% higher compared to 2020.
An increase in TBI Bank's general expenses by 19% to 61 million euro was mainly driven by accelerated growth of the loan portfolio and investments into new business lines and markets, the bank said.
"Throughout the year we onboarded new buy now, pay later (BNPL) partners, including new verticals, and we are now present in over 14,000 merchant locations. We were quick to adjust to the changing market environment and consumer preferences, which helped both our retail and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) business lines to grow above the market trends and contribute positively to the overall result," the bank explained.
In 2021, TBI Bank serviced some 1.25 million applications in Bulgaria and Romania and issued nearly 500,000 payment plans. Growth can be seen in both the bank's retail and SME sectors in Bulgaria and Romania as its total assets increased by nearly 30%, reaching 710 million euro, while the loan portfolio reached 544 million euro at the end of last year.
"Romania, our largest business market, was the leader in terms of growth (38% for Romania; 32% all markets) and contribution to the overall business performance," TBI Bank noted.
The bank's deposit portfolio reached 411 million euro at the end of 2021, demonstrating healthy growth, well outperforming the market. "Particularly impressive growth was registered in Romania, where we increased our retail deposit portfolio by 53%, while the overall market was shrinking," TBI Bank added.
At the end of 2021, TBI Bank had a strong and well-secured position from both capital and liquidity sides - on consolidated basis the capital adequacy ratio (CAR) being at 23% and the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) - 376%, more than 3.5 times above the regulatory limit, it said.
"2021 marks a milestone in our organization’s history: the entry of new markets, Lithuania and Greece. We look very confident towards 2022 to maintain our BNPL leadership position in Southeast Europe and continue challenging the established norms in the banking sector," said Petr Baron, CEO of TBI Bank.
TBI Bank was Bulgaria's 15th largest lender by assets among 25 local banks and branches of foreign banks in the country at the end of February, according to the latest central bank data.
($ = 0.9118 euro)
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