Banca Comerciala Romana (Romanian Commercial Bank-BCR), the largest bank of the entire banking system in Romania concluded H1 with 1,965bn lei ($67.5 million) in net profit, up 28.8% compared with the same time in 2000, when it registered 1,525bn lei in profit.
If calculated in real terms, the ROL depreciation considered, BCR’s profit actually went down 5.4%. The bank’s profit in H1, 2000 reached some $71.4 million.
The balance sheet on June 30, 2001 registers 57.6% increase in assets, compared with the assets value in June 2000. The total assets currently amount to 84,443bn lei ($2.9bn), accounting for some 34% of the total assets in the banking system.
The number of BCR clients, either natural or legal persons reached more than 2.6 million, having gone up 21% over the past twelve months.
As for retail operations, 57% of the bank’s network is dedicated to such activities. The current development strategy entails resizing the network, that is expanding some units and closing others, which are not profitable.
BCR in H1 remained the main lender of the real economy, with the credit balance in late June amounting to some 26,000bn lei, that is 50.7% more than on June 30, 2000.
The private sector accounted for over 72% in BCR’s non-governmental credit portfolio, compared with 67% in H1, 2000. At the same time, the loans to SMEs reached about 40% of the total.
The bank in H1 registered an increase of over 62% in equity capital, which amounted to 14,346bn lei ($495 million).
The efficiency and liquidity indicators are within the international performance standards, BCR says. The profitability of the bank’s equity capital calculated by a system updated every year, reached 27.39% in H1, while the assets profitability reached 3,96%. The liquidity index, calculated according to the total assets amounted to 38.35%.
Banca Comerciala Romana is also positioned on the electronic payment tools market, with more than 450,000 active cards in late H1. It also has the largest ATM network, which consists of more than 300 cash dispensers.
BCR has six types of cards in circulation, four of which for natural persons and two for legal persons. Some 85% of the cards issued are used as salary payment tools. Visa Electron, BCR’s latest released such product, has reached 45,000 cards issued in only three months.
The bank is preparing to launch two new types of credit cards to broaden its offer. At the same time, card-related GSM services are scheduled to be available soon.
BCR is included on the privatisation list within the PSAL programme signed with the World Bank. Its privatisation should be completed by the end of 2002.