“Yearend outlooks are not great. The fourth quarter may bring a certain rebound or mean the end of some companies as it has a decisive impact, especially in retail or retail suppliers,” says Răsvan Radu, an executive president of UniCredit Țiriac Bank.
Banks are trying to offset the rising risk charges by cutting
other categories of expenses. UniCredit in September reached a
cost/income ratio of 41.8%. “We can go below 40% and this is the
direction we want to pursue. (…)”.
The 11% loan volume increase UniCredit registered largely came from
the corporate unit. As regards refinancing operations, Radu says
the bank was not aggressive on this segment, but it offered “very
good conditions” and could thus attract clients from other
banks.
Demand for new retail loans is still low on the lack of confidence
in the future, so that refinancing is likely to remain an important
source of balance sheet growth for some players.
“There are banks that have lost their breath and hence a market
slice is becoming available, which can be covered by other banks
that are investing further and want to hold strategic positions for
the future growth period,” Radu says.