BRD manages to preserve profit despite Q1 lending drop

BRD-Groupe Societe Generale, the second largest bank
domestically in terms of assets, in the first quarter generated net
income worth 199.2m RON (48.4m euros), down 5% from a year ago. The
loan portfolio has in the past year contracted by 1%, to 32.8bn RON
(8bn euros), but the bank derived higher profits from interest
margins. According to the BRD report, the first quarter did not
bring the expected economic recovery, with lending still frozen. On
the other hand, the bank has managed to further cut operating
expenses and stabilise the level of provisions, so that it reported
a drop by only 5% in net income, in line with estimates included in
the budget draft. The value of the total loan portfolio in the
first quarter went down by 1.3%, from 33.25bn RON in late 2009, to
32.8bn RON, as shown in the quarterly report sent to the National
Securities Commission (CNVM). On the other hand, attracted deposits
rose by 3.9%, to 30.67bn RON, but the bank preferred to boost its
placements in T-bills, safer than loans aimed at the private
environment.