Banks make over 100m-euro profit in October

October proved to be one of this year’s best months when the 40 banks on the market derived total net profit worth over 100 million euros. Compared with September, the banks’ net incomes increased by 18% in RON, twice as high against the preceding month. Ten months into the year, the banks posted net profit worth 2.2 million RON, equivalent to around 662 million euros, i.e. almost equal last year’s profit. Against the first ten months of 2006, total profit increased by over 16%. Experience shows that profit in the banking system is concentrated with the big players, which have over 5% market shares. As a result, average net profit ten months into the year stood at around 17 million euros per bank, whilst many lenders feel the pressure of the rising costs entailed by new branches and personnel. However, October’s financial performance meant net profit per employee continued to rise by 1.4 against September, to around 1,400 euros, although the number of employees in the system grew by almost 1,000, to over 64,400 people. October also saw a heavy increase in the total on-balance sheet assets of the 40 credit institutions on the market, by around 2 billion, compared with September and exceeded 65 billion euros. The increase in RON stood at over 40% against October 2006. The network of banking branches continued to see rapid expansion as 92 new agencies and offices entered the system and reached a total of 5,267, 1,000 more than a year ago.