Banks listed on BSE, the most profitable in the region

BRD and Banca Transilvania, the main Romanian banks listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE), boast the highest levels of return on equity for banks listed in Central and Eastern Europe, according to data from the Belgian brokerage company KBC Securities. BRD and Banca Transilvania also reported profits above analysts’ expectations nine months into the year, and both registered significant profit increases in the third quarter of the year. KBC analysts estimate BRD will see a return on equity (ROE) of 33.3% at the end of the year, while for Banca Transilvania, the ROE is estimated at 35.7% for this year. After the first nine months of the year, BRD saw a ROE of 40.2%, while the bank reported net profit worth 682 million RON (205 million euros), up 43% against the same time last year. In comparison, for the eight banks in Poland, KBC predicts ROE levels that range from 17% to 25%, with the biggest value forecast for PKO BP, with a 25% ROE.