February 28 (SeeNews) - Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR), part of Austria's Erste Group, said on Monday its net profit soared by 73% year-on-year to 1.409 billion lei ($318 million/285 million euro) in 2021.
The net profit was boosted by an improved operating performance, mainly due to higher business volumes and lower risk cost allocation, BCR said in a press release communicating its 2021 unaudited consolidated results.
"Despite the pandemic, 2021 was a far better year for more than 5,600 companies in Romania SA and Romania SRL, that generate over 350,000 jobs, companies which chose to grow with us," BCR CEO Sergiu Manea said.
Operating result improved by an annual 12.9% to 2.12 billion lei during 2021 on the back of higher operating income.
Net interest income edged up by 2% on the year to 2.42 billion lei in 2021 driven by higher loan and deposit volumes in both retail and corporate, partly offset by lower market rates. Net fee and commission income increased by 22.2%, to 868 million lei, on the back of higher transactional business.
Loans and advances to customers grew by an annual 11.3% to 47.9 billion lei as of end-2021, supported by a rise in both retail and corporate segments.
Deposits from customers rose by 11.7% compared to end-2020, reaching 72.4 billion lei.
BCR's non-performing loan (NPL) ratio decreased to 3.9% at end-2021 from 4.5% at end-2020, reflecting the positive trend in loans to customers and supported by a low NPL formation. At the same time, the NPL provisioning coverage reached 138.2% as of end-2021.
The solvency ratio for BCR Bank standalone, according to the capital requirements regulations stood at 20.8% as of end-2021, well above the regulatory requirements of Romania's central bank.
BCR provides financial products and services, through a network of 18 business centers and 16 mobile offices dedicated to companies and 326 retail units located in most Romanian cities with over 10,000 inhabitants.
(1 euro=4.9479 lei)
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