UPDATE 1 - Romania's BCR 9-mo Net Profit Rises 71.8% to 1,247 Mln Lei (341.5 Mln Euro)

The bank's results are unaudited and are reported under the international financial reporting standards (IFRS). The conversion of the profit figures into euro was made at an exchange rate of 3.6519 Romanian lei per euro, the bank said in a statement.

BCR, majority owned by Austria's Erste Bank, is Romania's top bank in terms of assets. Its total assets exceeded 66.7 billion lei at the end of September, up 5.3% from the end of 2007.

Customers' loan portfolio reached more than 43.278 billion lei at the end of September, up by 17.3% compared to end-2007. Leu-denominated loans accounted for 49% of the bank's loan portfolio.

BCR achieved a cost/income ratio of 42.7% in the third quarter, compared to 56% a year earlier. Return on equity increased to 32.3% from 22% in the same period of 2007.

In the third quarter BCR opened 19 branches, bringing the number of its outlets to 607.

Erste's net profit after minority interests grew by 74.6% on the year to 1.463 billion euro ($1.9 billion) in the first nine months of 2008, Erste said in another statement on Thursday.

Its shares last traded up 14.87% at 75.7 lei per share by 1215 GMT on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, BVB. The shares of Erste Bank started trading on the BVB on February 14. They are also listed on the stock exchanges in Vienna and Prague.

The Austrian group wrapped up a 3.75 billion euro acquisition of a 61.9% stake in BCR in October 2006 and raised its stake to 69.11% two months later. Under the acquisition agreement, Erste has to list BCR shares on the BVB within three years after the completion of the deal.

($ = 0.764 euro)