Erste Group reported Thursday the financial results for the first quarter of 2020, including the results reported by BCR Group’s operations in Romania.
Operating income grew 5% on the year to EUR164 million and operating expenses fell 13% on the year to EUR86 million in the first quarter of 2020, generating an operating profit of EUR78.8 million, up 36.4% on the year.
Interest income (including BCR) climbed 8.2% on the year to EUR111 million, due to increased lending on the local market and lower financing costs.
Bernhard Spalt, CEO of Erste Group Bank AG, said countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have prepared well on a macroeconomic level over the past years. Therefore, he added, the CEE region is much better positioned for coping with the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus crisis, than it was during the financial crisis over a decade ago.
Erste Group reported net interest income of EUR1.22 billion in the first quarter of 2020, up 6% on the year, fueled mostly by increases in the Czech Republic and Austria, as well as in Romania. The net result attributable to owners of the parent company reached EUR235.3 million in January-March 2020, down 37.6% on the year. As per the earnings report, for 2020 and not only, risk costs are like a “wild card”.