New retail loans granted to individuals (mortgage loans and personal loans) and micro-enterprises stood at RON3.7 billion in the first half of 2020, driven mainly by mortgage loans, which grew 20% year-on-year. Personal loans declined 9.3% on the year in the first half due to uncertainty spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.
On the corporate segment, BCR alone granted new loans totaling RON3.2 billion in the first six months. Financing stock to SMEs, including the group’s BCR Leasing subsidiary, grew 9% in the first half RON6.3 billion.
Financing to the public sector grew 16.1% on the year in the first half of 2020, while real estate lending grew 20.9%.
The bank said its digital banking platform George reached 900,000 users, up 70% compared with the first half of 2019, and the number of transactions on the platform grew 130% on the year.
BCR’s operating profit grew 9.3% on the year in the first half, to RON898.2 million. BCR’s operating revenue grew 0.8%, to RON1.7 billion.
Net interest income grew 7%, to RON1.18 billion, due to higher lending volumes.
Net fee and commission income declined 14.3% in the first half, to RON316.2 million, due to reduced business activity and support measures for customers during the pandemic. BCR said it accepted around 38,000 loan repayment deferrals, accounting for 7% of its loans to individuals and 12% of loans to businesses.
Net trading income declined 12.3%, to RON142.9 million, mainly due to reduced trading activity.
General administrative expenses decreased 7.2% in the first half, to RON805.3 million, mainly due to a lower annual contribution to the deposit guarantee fund.
The bank’s non-performing loans ratio reached 4.5% in June 2020, higher compared with 4.1% in December 2019. BCR said this was due to a one-off situation consisting of a large exposure to a corporate customer.
Customer deposits grew 3.1% on the year in the first half of the year, to RON59.5 billion.