Libra Bank starts making profit

Libra Bank, a small player specialised in freelancer financing, generated a net income worth 412,000 RON (124,000 euros) in the first half of this year. The bank ended last year with net losses. “We’ll continue along this trend. We’ve budgeted a net income worth 3m RON (almost 1m euros i.e.) for the end of this year. This will be the first year in the black since the bank was taken over by its current shareholders,” says Emilian Bituleanu, chairman of the bank. In 2003, Libra was taken over by New Century Holding (NCH) US investment fund, which owns the stock indirectly through some domestic companies. Bituleanu, who has recently been appointed chairman after filling the position of deputy chairman for several years, says the bank had generated an operating income as early as last year, but the net figure was influenced by the high level of provisions for the consumer loans it granted. The bank’s assets at the end of H1 totalled 679m RON (almost 217m euros), up 33% from last December. The bank registered a growth rate higher than the market average and managed to expand its market share to 0.36% of system assets.